Rite of Passage
by Hyena Cub
Summary: Notaku, a young Barbic cub, is about to go through his Rite of Passage. His success or failure will determine the fate of his colony. (Custom-driven story)
1. 1

**Rite of Passage**   
by Al McConnell (aka hyena cub) 

This is a story about a young Barbic clan youth about to go through his Rite of Passage. He is part of a clan isolated from most of the Gummies long ago, and now find themselves dealing with impending disaster for the entire colony. 

Chapter 1 

Chapter 1: 

By the flickering light of a small fire, arranged on the barren grounds of the desert, two Barbics spoke of grim matters. "Time is growing short, Bryon," one of them said. "If we do not find this relic by midsummer, we shall all of us die. The Valley is the only place within hundreds of leagues that can support our clan as we are. If the valley is destroyed, we have nowhere to go." 

"I know, I _know_, Sentka. Don't you think I've gone over this a hundred times in my mind?" The man sighed, putting his head in his hand, taking in a big breath of the fresh desert air. "The mages of the clan have been working on it. The scrolls we uncovered in the ancient caves are difficult to translate. But they believe that we are close to a solution." 

"I hope so," Sentka said, sitting down on the still-warm sand. "Because our own journey was a miserable failure, and we must now report that failure to the clan when we arrive on the morrow." 

Bryon shook his head. "We tried. And that is all that we can do. Come on, we must catch some sleep. And then we will see what the mages have discovered, for their Rite ends tomorrow." 

Sentka nodded his head and lay down on his bedroll, but neither Barbic got much sleep that night. 

--- 

Notaku Barbic did not get much sleep that night, either. In two months' time, when he turned thirteen, he would be going through his Rite of Passage, known among Barbics as the Test of Bearhood. In a week's time, if he was able to complete the tasks given to him, he would truly be an adult. 

This was especially important to Notaku. Notaku was a small bear, even by Gummi standards, and rather slim as well. Even now, at twelve, he was often mistaken by those who did not know him well as someone much younger. He had worn glasses since he was too young to remember it, and saw everything in a blur when he did not wear them. But the Test of Bearhood, when completed, was always announced throughout the Valley, and there would be no doubt of his age, or his bravery. 

But that was if he completed it. 

Restless, Notaku stood from his bed and walked outside to gaze out at the Valley. The Valley was a huge cleft in the desert, where giant trees grew, providing the foundation for the clan's homes. The boy walked out onto a branch easily four times the thickness of his body, and simply watched. 

It was fairly late, and most of the Barbics were already asleep, or at least inside their homes. There was flickering light from oil lamps from several homes, homes that blended so well with the trees they were built in that upon a casual glance, one might not notice that they were anything but trees. 

Notaku's home was near the top of the Valley, which afforded him a spectacular view of the flatlands beyond. Gazing here did not exactly help Notaku's nerves. For one, it showed him the unforgiving wastelands that he would soon have to brave to prove he was ready to take his place among his people as an adult of the clan. But it also showed the very top of Derelict Peak, which had the entire clan worrying about whether they would be alive come the middle of summer. 

--- 

It had all begun quite by accident, when the lead mages of the clan were out on a vision quest. All Gummi bears, by nature, have the ability to tap into the magical bloodstreams of the earth, but there were those among the clan who made it their entire existence. These were the ones who acted as healers, and guides for the people. They took care of the sick and injured; they advised the warriors in the rare times of war in the isolated desert. They used their magic to help the crops grow in the hard ground, and to bring rain when it was needed. 

And sometimes, they got information through visions and scrying about natural disasters and other threats. 

A group of five mages went out into the desert, to renew their bond with the earth, and to receive their visions. They had not been seeking information about Derelict Peak at all, they had only been performing the spring vision-rites. But in the middle of the rite, the youngest, and thus the most receptive of the lot cried out in terror at what he was seeing. Afraid that some malign influence was attacking the young man, the others tried to bring him from his trance, but the vision was too powerful, and the youth's eyes remained closed. 

Within minutes, it was over, and the young man opened his eyes wide, his face pale beneath his dark green fur. "Are you all right?" asked the eldest, a Barbic woman whose weathered face had seen a great many summers. 

"I...I'm all right," said the youth. "But - but a vision. I've had a vision, of our Valley! Of the death of our Valley, and our clan!" 

Obviously, this news were greeted with dismay, and worry by the other mages. They questioned him carefully about what he had seen. The youth looked into the distance, where the jagged apex of Derelict Peak stabbed the sky above, and nodded in its direction. "There," he said. "I don't know how, or why, but Derelict Peak will be the destruction of our Valley. From within it, the ground will shake, and great cracks will open in the earth." The youth shuddered, taking in a big breath. "I saw the Valley collapse, the people living there crushed beneath the rock and the sand, the great trees cracking, and homes splintering, and l-liquid fire burying it all..." He swallowed hard. "And at the end, a gem. A blue gem." 

The mages exchanged glances among themselves. If this indeed was a true prophecy, then their clan would be doomed to death either way, for they were many hundreds of miles from anywhere else that was livable. And without the Valley and its delicate balance of life, they would not be able to find food or water enough to keep everyone alive. There was the Jungle, ten days' journey from the Valley, but that was forbidden land; those who lived there did not welcome settlers. It was rumored that elvish folk lived there, and they did not take so well to intruders. 

While the eldest went to comfort the shaken youth, the second eldest spoke. "First, we must determine if this was a genuine vision," he said. "Because we have been fooled before by malignant forces, trying to mislead us." 

The eldest nodded. "We will have to go back to the Valley, use the scrying stone, for it cannot be fooled by anything less than the gods themselves. The trouble is, that Rite takes weeks to prepare and a full week to carry out." She looked down at the young bear, who had gotten a hold of himself and was taking several big breaths. "Do you know how long we have?" 

"Well," said the youth. "The moon was dark, and the summer plants were in full bloom." 

"That means midsummer," said the eldest. "So we have some time. Very well then. We will tell the people what we have seen. They will likely want to send people out to gather what information they can while we prepare, and perhaps we can find a way to prevent this." 

"Then come," said the second. "We must hurry." The small group of bears stood and rushed back to give their news. 

--- 

That had been two months ago. And tomorrow, the mages would be able to tell the people what they learned. Three of them had not been seen since, as they concentrated on the rite, while the others took over the duties of healers and advisors. Notaku's own father and a friend of his had journeyed out into the desert only two weeks before, the third group to do so since the visions had been received. They were due back tomorrow as well. 

Notaku looked around him as he heard a noise on the branch, and saw his mother coming out to see if he was all right. "Come on in, Notaku," Kuma said, smiling at the worried boy. "It's getting late. And you will need to rest well in the nights preceding your Test." 

The boy turned, and nodded, pushing his glasses up onto his nose. They had this annoying habit of slipping down so that the top half of his vision was blurry, and the bottom half clear. "I'm just nervous," he told his mother. 

"About what?" she asked, as they turned towards the flickering lights of their home. 

"Everything. Derelict Peak. My Test. Dad." 

His mother sighed softly. "I know what you mean. So many cares for a young bear. But your father should be home tomorrow, and tomorrow evening, the mages will give their information to the clan. And as for your Test, I have the fullest confidence in you." The woman smiled at her uncertain son, and hugged him. "Come on. Let's get some sleep." 

Nodding, the boy followed. 

--- 

Bryon was Notaku's father, and he came home early in the morning, before many people had yet wakened. He and Sentka slipped quietly into their homes to rest after their wearying journey. 

During breakfast, Notaku asked his father what his quest had found, and Bryon told him that they had found nothing that could possibly be of help, and that he hoped the mages had some useful information. "Because if they do not," he said, "then we must leave our Valley and chance the wilds." Bryon's voice was calm and matter-of-fact, but Notaku knew his father well enough to know that he was very worried. 

"When will they gather the clan?" Notaku asked. 

"We will be assembling this evening, after supper," Bryon replied. "And I pray to Gum that we find a solution." 

That evening, everyone who lived in the Valley assembled at the very middle, where a great open area sat for meetings such as this one. There were levels of rock surrounding the entire area, upon which many cubs (and a fair few adults) sat or stood, waiting for the mages to speak. Notaku sat on one of these, his short legs swinging back and forth as his eyes took in the scene. Barbic Gummi bears filled the entire, rocky compound, talking to one another and milling about. From the oldest, most wrinkled elder, to the tiniest infant cubs in their mothers arms, they were all there. It was a sea of browns and reds, with the occasional green or blue or yellow splashes among the earth tones. Barbics did not have the diversity of color that their Glen kin did, but there were a few. 

The sun was setting in the valley, and the sky overhead was a quiet, deep shade of blue. To the west, the blue lightened until bands of pink and purple crossed its expanse where the sun settled into the horizon. Pinpricks of white shone more and more as one looked eastward and night approached. 

Some of the younger cubs, proud of the responsibility, had been asked to light all the lanterns in the compound as the light left them, and soon the faces in the crowd were lit with warm, dancing firelight. There was a gleeful "Blecka!" from one of the infants in the throng, and several people laughed. A light, warm breeze ruffled the fur of the crowd and the sound of insects buzzed as the night creatures began to stir. 

The assembly did not have to wait long. From the mages' abode staggered out the three who had performed their rite, exhausted from the long hours or work, and the energy it took to receive such visions. One of them was the youth who had the vision to begin with, the other was the eldest. The third was a young woman who had been a ranking mage for several years. 

The eldest spoke. "My good Barbics!" she cried, her old voice still ringing with power. "Your attention, please! Our Rite is finished, and we know what must be done!" There were excited murmurings among the crowd at this declaration, but they did not last long; everyone wanted to hear what the mages had to say. 

"It's about time," a grouchy old bear behind Notaku grumbled. "We've only been waiting all spring." Notaku sent a glare the old geezer's way. Most Barbics knew what respect was, but there were always a handful that didn't care. And Notaku had never heard of a village that did not have at least one village grouch in it! 

The mage continued. "Our visions have told us this much: the gem our young mage here saw at the end of the vision is what we need to get to prevent this terrible tragedy from happening. This gem is what has kept the mountain stable, has kept the roiling rock beneath calm, and dormant. But thanks to the greed of humans, this gem was stolen from the mountain by a human explorer near the waning of winter, as the thief obviously hoped to harness this energy for himself!" 

There was an angry buzz at these words, as most Barbics knew that humans were trouble. Had not the greater part of their troubles been caused by, or at least involved the furless creatures? 

"The human was killed by the power of the gem," the youth who had the original vision added. "And the gem taken into safety. But we do not know by whom, or where." 

"How do we get it then?" called a young man from up front. "How do we return it to its rightful home?" 

"One among us must go on a quest," the eldest announced. "One bear...and he must go alone. Furthermore, there are certain requirements that this bear must have, else the quest will fail, and we shall surely perish. And this quest will be dangerous." Murmurs of uneasiness passed through the crowd. "And so...there are five Barbics here that we must speak to. And he or she who is chosen to go will be announced within three days." 

Exhausted, the eldest slumped back against the rock wall behind her, letting the younger woman there announce the names. "Jerrel Glenson!" she called. "Sayla Ursine! Kailee WoodDweller! Sentka Gumm! And Bryon Barbic! The rest of you, we are finished here for those who would return to their homes!" 

Notaku gasped as his father's name was called, standing up so suddenly that his glasses fell and would have shattered on the rock had he not caught them in time. "No..." he whispered. Surely such a mission would kill his father! He bit his lip and sank back against the rock, feeling all of a sudden as if he, not the mages, had gone through the weeks-long ritual. 

Excited talk rippled among the Barbics as the five bears went up to hold council with the mages and the crowd began to break up. Notaku followed a group of bears who lived near him, as they headed back to their dwellings, or to the tavern to talk about the extraordinary quest. Notaku met up with his mother, who gave him a reassuring squeeze around the shoulders. "If your father is chosen," she said quietly, "He will triumph. I am certain of this. Let's go home and wait for him, perhaps he will be able to tell us what the mages decided." 

Too worried to trust himself to speak, the boy nodded, and followed her home. 

Turned out that Notaku's curiosity was rather disappointed when his father came home that night. He asked him what the mages had decided, and Bryon had said that he could not say...yet. That Notaku would have to be patient. The boy tried for a bit to persuade his father for even a hint, but Bryon remained silent, and finally the boy gave up. 


	2. 2

Chapter 2 

The next morning, Notaku received a shock. After he had eaten breakfast, his father had brought out a robe in the traditional colors of the clan; blue and gold. A headdress of feathers sat on top of the robes. "You will begin your Rite of Passage today," his father told him. "The first part of your Test of Bearhood, the weapons and physical test, will take place today." 

There was silence in the house for a moment, while Notaku stared. "To...day?" he finally said. "But I won't be thirteen until midsummer!" 

Bryon nodded his head. "I know. And I know you were not going to take the test until then. But there have been cubs who take it earlier. And after today, you will know why. But for now, you must get ready for your dance before we begin. You and four others will be beginning their tests today. Yes, all in the same day." 

Seeing the look of utter bafflement on Notaku's face, his mother chuckled and kissed the top of his head. "You're more than ready," she told him. "And at the end of today, I promise you will be told why it's being done like that." 

"I-but-we're not..." Notaku shook his head and stood from the table, his mind still trying to process this unexpected bit of news. "Um, all right, let me get my sling, and everything, then...are we doing the dance in the assembly area then?" 

Bryon nodded. "Yes, we are. Your mother and I will meet you there, all right?" 

The youth nodded. "Okay. I'll get the robes on and be right down." Notaku watched his parents leave, and perceived that they were worried. But finally, he raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders as if to say "Whatever you say", and stripped his nightshirt off. He grabbed the light robe and pulled it over his shoulders, then arranged the headdress on his head. It fit him perfectly. 

Notaku spent most of the trip from his tree to the assembly calming his nerves. Yes, he had practiced the dance and knew it by heart, but he was still going to have to perform it now in front of the others. And from what he had seen of other Tests of Bearhood, a lot of people usually showed up. 

Today, it was a bit different. Yes, there were a great many Barbics there to watch the ceremonies, but there were also four other youths. Notaku saw with some surprise that they ranged in age from ten to twelve, would be dancing together. At least he wouldn't be alone in doing it. Two of the mages that had not participated in the vision Rite held traditional instruments in their hands; one had a drum, another a rattle. They also dressed in the traditional robes and headdresses. Notaku nervously stepped into the middle of the circle with the other youths, and waited. 

It was not as evil as Notaku had thought it would be. The native headdresses did look a bit strange, but there was also a sort of tribal pride that they gave the wearer. The drums began, and Notaku and the other youths began the oft-practiced, side-to-side dance that would mark the beginning of their trials. They chanted the words in the Brbic language that prayed to the gods to watch over them as they journeyed from cubhood to adulthood. 

With the completion of the dance, the Test had officially begun, and all were quiet as the five participants were told to take out their weaponry. Notaku noticed, for the first time, that the equipment used to test a young bear's weapons and physical skills had been set up off to one side, and each would have to display their skills one by one. 

"There will be two parts to this test, as always, but you will not all be doing the same thing for your second part. You will be told, after you run your first part, what the second will be." The mage conducting the ceremony held out a turtle shell that rattled when he shook it, and he held this above the cubs' heads. "Each of you must reach in and grab a stone," said he. "There will be a number on each one. That will be your order in which you complete your tasks." 

This was all highly unusual for a Test of Bearhood, even Notaku knew this, but he wasn't about the question it. His mind burned with questions, but he held them back for now. There would be time for questions later. He stood on his toes and reached into the bowl, drawing out a stone with a "4" painted on it. The ten year old, son of one of the most powerful knights of the clan, drew the "1", the two girls drew the "2" and "3", and the last boy, who was Notaku's age, drew the "5". 

"Well then," said the mage to the first cub. "What's your weapon, then?" 

"The spear," the boy, nervously answered. He was a cub whose name was Artan, and Notaku could tell he was shaking the slightest bit. 

"Very well. You see there are three targets there." The mage pointed. "You must hit those targets. Then, there is a rope that you must climb to reach a slim walkway above, across which you must run. At the top there is a thorn barrier to crawl under, and a rope ladder that leads yet higher. Then, as you see, there is another rope down which you must slide." The cub nodded, taking it all in. "You will all be timed on this part of your Test. It will start when you are ready." 

The youngest cub took a big breath, nodded as if to reassure himself, then ran for the scaffold. The mage turned over an hourglass, which was marked in increments along the glass. 

Notaku leaned towards one of the girls, one he vaguely knew as Callai. "I wonder why we're all doing this together." 

She shook her head, looking as baffled as Notaku felt. "I don't know. For that matter, I'm not supposed to be doing this yet, I'm only eleven." 

"None of us are thirteen yet," whispered Notaku. "I mean, Artan is only ten!" Granted, his father was the most powerful knight-warrior in the clan, but still. 

Callai shook her head. "I dunno what's going on. But I have heard of bears going through their Test as early as eight. Of course that hasn't happened in a really long time; ten and eleven are more common. Still, even those don't happen too often." 

"Maybe," said the eldest of the lot, a boy that was a month older than Notaku. "Maybe they figure they'd better get these over with before we all die." 

Callai scowled. "Gerik! That's not too encouraging a thing to say!" 

The burly youth shrugged. "Makes sense though, doesn't it?" 

The girl let out an exasperated sigh, then turned to watch. 

Artan was nearly done with his first part; he had speared all the targets clean through the middle, but due to his youth, he had some difficulty climbing the rope. Most cubs disliked that part of their warrior training; ropes were hard to climb! 

The mage smiled at the boy once he was finished, and patted him on the shoulder. "Well done, young man. Go ahead and wait over there while the others finish their parts." 

The boy nodded, panting, and went over to sit in the shade and drink water from a large glass. Notaku watched the girls go through their obstacles, one using a bow and the other a spear for their weapons. One missed one target, and while the other hit all three, only one was in the bullseye. 

And then it was Notaku's turn. He would have to be fast, but not rush himself so that he made mistakes. "What is your weapon?" the mage asked, and Notaku held up his sling. A pouch of ammunition sat open at his side. "Very well, the line is marked to stand behind. When you're ready." 

Notaku nodded, and looked up at the scaffolding. He closed his eyes, and took a big breath, willing his heart rate to calm, and his mind to clear. Concentrate, he told himself. You know how to do all these things, you just have to do them. He had the strangest intuition that this would be one of the most important things he did in his life. 

A moment later he opened his eyes, and sprinted for the line. 

The target shooting was not so bad; he hit all the targets straight on, leaving holes in the cloth beast-shapes. Once he was finished with that, he ran for the rope, remembering to close his ammunition pouch, and slipping his sling into the belt around his middle. 

The hot sun was already beating down on the boy, making him wish his fur was not quite so thick as it was. He grunted as he leapt up, catching the rope a couple of feet higher than he would had he started from the ground. Clenching his teeth with grim effort, he began using his arms to carry him higher and higher; he had found that trying to use his feet often got him nowhere on rope climbs, and that if he timed it right, and swung his body with a smooth rhythm, it was far easier to use just his arms. 

Notaku's chest rose and fell heavily by the time he reached the walkway, but he did not slow, for he knew that this part of the test was timed, and that the better his time, the better chance he had to complete his Test of Bearhood. 

Being small had its advantages. Though he was not as strong as many his age, his small stature also gave him less weight to haul around on the ropes. The hot wind above was a slight danger in crossing the beam, but his natural litheness allowed him to get across quickly. 

He scuttled easily under the thorn barrier, and arrived nearly at the end, looking up at the rope ladder he now faced. This was a slight problem for Notaku, as it had been for the first cub. The rungs were set quite far apart, and Notaku's stubby legs would have problems easily scaling it. He backed up a few feet and came at it at a run, as he had the straight rope, and leaped onto the rungs. The ladder bent and swayed as he struggled to reach the top quickly. It was not as swift as he would have liked, but there was no help for it now. 

Notaku wiped sweat out of his eyes as he leapt at the final rope, actually letting out a laugh of delight as he freefell for a split second. This part, he liked. He slowed himself enough that he would not hit bottom too hard, and landed gracefully on his feet, sprinting to the mage and stopping before him, panting for breath. The mage smiled at him, and told him he had done well. 

Feeling overall pleased with his test, Notaku stumbled over to where the other three cubs sat and partook of the water that was there for them to drink. He watched the fifth boy. 

This was a boy that Notaku did not particularly like. He was a bit arrogant, and considered many of the other youths beneath him. He was not quite a bully, but he wasn't someone that was easily liked, either. For a moment, Notaku hoped that he would fail his test, and then blushed, feeling ashamed of this uncharitable thought. Instead of watching the older boy's test, he busied himself with watching the spectators. 

He saw his parents, who both gave him an encouraging smile, but he thought that they seemed strangely preoccupied. Had his father been picked for the quest? He supposed that would explain it. He saw a few of his friends, all of whom were around his age, and Notaku wondered why they were not also going through their Tests. 

Once everyone was finished, the mage gathered them all before him. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Notaku felt a little bit shaky as he walked over to here what the mage had to say. The older Barbic smiled down at them. "The good news is this: you have all passed this part of your test." He smiled and paused to let the cubs get their relieved and elated cheering out of the way. "Yes, very good job, all of you. Now, all that remains is your second task. For four of you, this task will be as it is for all cubs; you will be given a spear, and set loose in a maze of Nature's design, to reach the goal before sundown. But for one, this second task will be a quest." Notaku frowned, as the mage paused, then went on. "A quest to find the blue gem that will save our Valley from destruction." 

There were gasps from the crowd, as well as looks of sheer disbelief and astonishment from the five cubs. One of the girls sat down hard on her rump, so astounded was she. Notaku made a connection, then; the five bears that had been called at the end of the mages' announcement the night pervious were the parents of the cubs that now stood here to perform their Tests of Bearhood. 

"But...why one of us?" Callai asked once she found her voice and got back to her feet. 

"Well," said the mage. "We said that the one that must undertake this task had to fulfill certain requirements. And one of these requirements was that the one must be a child under the age of thirteen." 

Notaku's eyes widened with comprehension. So that was why... This wasn't just a test of Bearhood, it was a test to see who would be best suited to go on this quest. 

"You all possess certain character qualities that have given or taken a certain number of points from your score before you ever began. Innocence, honor, and respect for all life were the main traits we looked at. The number of targets that you hit with your weapons also gave you a certain number of points based on how well you hit them. And your time in finishing this obstacle course determined yet more. There were other things, such as whether you stumbled on the walkway, or how awkward you were on the rope ladder, but those were of lesser importance." 

The mage paused, and there was near silence in the assembly area as everyone waited to see who would be chosen for this quest. Notaku shifted uncomfortably; he was not sure if he really wanted to be chosen, or if he would rather not. It was sure to be dangerous, and though the idea excited him, it also scared him. What if he was badly hurt, or even killed? Worse yet...what if he simply failed, and everyone was killed? Of course he really did not expect to be chosen, at all. He was certainly not the best warrior trainee in the Valley, nor was he the strongest or bravest. 

Lost in these alarming thoughts, the boy was startled when next the mage spoke. "Notaku Barbic. You are the one chosen for this quest." 

There was silence for a moment as Notaku gaped, astonishment radiating from every part of his body. And then, slowly, a cheer began to erupt from the spectators. One of Notaku's friends whooped and ran at him, nearly knocking the breath out of him with his bear hug. Looking a little amused, the mage came up to him and grasped his shoulder. "Your father will tell you what you may bring on your journey. Our eldest mage will meet you and your parents in your home to give you what little information we have." He paused, and then added, "You do have the right to refuse this, and the task will be given to one of the other youths." 

For a split second, the overwhelmed boy considered doing just that. A slight flutter of panic seared through his mind as he thought of the enormity of responsibility this quest held. But after a moment of calming himself, he looked up and shook his head. "I won't refuse," he said. 

The mage nodded in approval. "Good," he said softly. "Go on to your home then, while I finish the others' Tests. And the best of good fortune to you. I will see you when your quest is through." 

Dazed, Notaku watched the mage lead the other youths towards the edge of the Valley, where they would presumably complete their Rites of Passage. As for Notaku, it seemed his had barely begun. 

Beside him, his friend laughed in amazement. "And here I always thought you were too scrawny to be a hero!" he said with a grin, and Notaku managed to put his shock on the shelf long enough to send a glare his friend's way. His friend only laughed, knowing Notaku could not stay angry with him long. "Well, go on, Mr. Hero!" He grinned a little wider before his expression sobered the slightest bit. "And be careful...okay?" 

Notaku laughed a little bit, and nodded his head. "Okay...well...I guess I'll see you later." He waved as he headed for home, and his friend waved back before leaving to watch the other Tests. 

His parents and the eldest mage sat in the main room waiting for him when he opened the door to their home. His father rose and embraced him for a moment, then drew him inside. "I'm proud of you, son," he said. "Worried...but very proud. The eldest here has some additional information for you to begin your quest with." 

Notaku took a big breath and nodded, walking inside to sit down facing the eldest. "You will make a fine warrior," she said with a smile. "Now...our visions have not told us much, but we have been given a starting place." She rummaged in her oversized leather bag, where she kept various items of magic, and drew out a thick piece of parchment. On it was a map of sorts, drawn very recently, by the look of it. She handed this to Notaku. "We were shown this place, in our vision, and it is here that you will find your starting place. It is a cave, but beyond that, we know little. You will be allowed to take your sling, of course, and a bag with some emergency supplies in it. Hunting your food will be up to you, but you will be given a full waterskin. After that, though, you must find your own sources of water. It will be a very difficult road, I'm afraid." 

"And, there is a time limit," Bryon added. "Midsummer, in fact. You've got six weeks to find this gem...and to return it to the mountain." 

Notaku looked at his father in disbelief. "Six weeks...but that gem could be anywhere!" 

Bryon nodded grimly. "I know, son. But the mountain will begin its destruction six weeks from now. Had the vision been given to the mages sooner, it would have been easier, but the powers that be don't always work like that." 

"No," agreed the eldest quietly. "They do not." She sighed, then turned her gaze back to Notaku. "You will be allowed first aid supplies, and a lantern. You may take parchment and quill if you care to record your journey." That is a good idea, Notaku thought morbidly. That way if I die, someone who finds me can find out how. "And of course, as I said, your sling and ammunition for it. For such a long journey, you will also be allowed a sharp knife." The elder smiled, and put a hand on the young Barbic's head. "You can do this. I have faith in you." 

"Wish I did," said Notaku, with a rather sick attempt at a grin. 

The elder chuckled, and stood. "I must go now. The visions Rite has tired me a great deal, and I must now rest. You will be in my prayers and my thoughts, young Barbic." 

"Thanks," said Notaku, watching the old woman go. 

"Well, come on, son. You'll want to leave early tomorrow, so we should pack your duffel tonight. I figure you can leave after an early breakfast." 

Still feeling a strange sort of dazedness, Notaku nodded, and followed his father into his bedroom. "I think I'm gonna cut off some of this excess fur," said Notaku as he gathered his parchment paper and his inkwell. "I can leave it thicker on my shoulders for the sun, but everywhere else I'm going to shorten it. Because it's hot out there." 

Bryon nodded. "That's not a bad idea, son. What will you wear?" 

"Well, I'm thinking maybe just a wraparound kilt. That'll be nice and cool. And I can bring my light cloak with the hood for the sun if I need it...will that be allowed?" 

Bryon nodded. "Go ahead and wear the cloak, so they won't consider it extra supplies. You can always take of off later." 

"Good idea." 

Bryon was looking down at Notaku with a strange sort of expression. Notaku was unsure if it was worry, or regret... "Son...are you all right with all of this?" 

Notaku stood up, taking in a big breath. "Yes," he said finally. "I'm all right with it, I'm just nervous. I mean, this is big. This is important...if I fail, we'll all be killed." He swallowed hard, again fighting the little worm of panic that was trying to borrow into his mind. 

He looked up as his father took him firmly by the shoulders. "Just do your best, Notaku. That is all any Gummi can do." 

Notaku nodded his head. "I guess...it's just...I've never done anything like this before." 

"I understand." 

"Well..." Notaku looked down at his packed bag, which seemed awfully inadequate to deal with what he was facing, then back at his father. "I think I'm gonna go out for a while...you know, as a last look around the Valley before I die." He was only half joking. 

Bryon laughed and put an arm around his son. "Now, I do expect you to stay alive...dying is not an option," he said, and was rewarded by his son's laugh. "Go on, have some fun. Just don't be too late in. You'll want an early start tomorrow." 

Notaku did indeed take a good, long walk around the Valley. He watched a little of the others' Tests, but found that watching them only made him more nervous about his own, and so he eventually wandered elsewhere. He spent some time with his friends, and saying goodbye to them, and answering about a million questions of whether or not he was scared, and what he was supposed to do, and what he was going to do... And then they simply hung around. 

Soon, though, the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting the Valley in purple shadows. "I guess I should go," said Notaku quietly. "I'm leaving early tomorrow morning." 

"You'll be fine," said one. "You're too stubborn to die." Notaku gave him a look, but in truth was glad of the teasing. It lightened his own mood. 

"Yeah," said another, snickering. "Just be yourself, and any enemies'll stay miles away from you." 

Notaku shook his head. "Boy, thanks a bunch," he said, but laughed all the same. "Well...guess I'll see you in midsummer." 

He turned around and headed back home, waving back at his friends, who all wished him luck. 

When he got home, he asked his mother if she would help him trim his fur so that dealing with the heat would be a little easier. Since he was taking the light cloak to shield him from the sun, he decided to trim the fur on his shoulders and head, also. She agreed, and brought out the shears, and they went to work. 

When they were finished, Notaku felt a whole lot better. He looked even skinner than normal, but that was all right. It was amazing how much fur could weigh one down. 

Notaku felt anything but tired, but knew he would need his sleep, and so he went to bed anyway. He even managed to succumb to slumber within the hour. 


	3. 3

Chapter 3

Breakfast that morning was rather a sick affair. Notaku was not sure if he could get anything down his throat, but he did manage. His parents, trying not to act worried, made small talk. They talked of the Tests of Bearhood that had been completed the night before. All but Artan had passed their Tests. "And that wasn't for lack of trying," said Bryon. "That little guy's got some determination. But he got lost in the arroyo, and didn't find his way until well after nightfall. He's okay with it though. He just grinned and shrugged, and said he would try again in a year or two. For now he's going to enjoy being a cub while he can." 

"Wise," commented Notaku with a sigh. He scowled at his egg, which seemed to be staring at him. He stabbed it in the yolk, which made it look a little less like an eye. 

"Notaku, eat your egg, rather than killing it, will you?" Kuma said, the ghost of a smile twitching on her lips. 

A laugh was surprised out of Notaku, and he gave his mother a wry grin. "That's what it gets for staring at me," he said. But he did eat his egg, and finished his toast. Then he took in a big breath. The window was dark, as the sun had not yet risen, but the gray that tinted the horizon told the world that the sun would not be long in coming. And that meant he would have to leave soon. 

"You'll want to get going soon, son," said Bryon. "Before the air really gets hot. The cave you need to get to is only a few days' journey, but you'll still want to make the best time you can." 

"Drink a lot of water before starting out," said his mother. "As much as you can. You'll need it." 

"Okay. I can go down to the stream and fill up my waterskin, and get a good long drink. I think I'll take a dip, for that matter, keep cool for a while." He was silent for a moment, and then he stood up. "I...I kinda want to get going before everyone wakes up. It'll be harder to leave with everyone watching me. I'll...I'll come back up here to say goodbye after I get my water, okay?" 

Kuma's eyes were bright, and Notaku realized in wonder that she was trying not to cry. He had never seen her cry in his life. She simply nodded at his statement, and Notaku slipped out of the door. His parents were being strangely quiet, he noticed. But then they were probably as worried as he was. 

The Valley was silent as he crept silently towards the stream where they got their water from, and the pools they bathed in. They had a pump system built from wood and leaves, but Notaku had wanted to get out a bit and think, and so he opted to come down and fetch the water himself. And the calming quiet of the desert morning always was able to soothe his mind. 

He filled his waterskin as much as he could, and capped it, before slipping into the bathing pool. The water was chilly, this early in the morning, but that was good. Later it would be quite hot enough. 

And so, dripping wet, he went back inside his home. 

Kuma had surrendered to her tears, as there was no stopping them, when Notaku got back inside. She drew her son into her arms and told him if he was not careful, she'd come after him herself and then he'd be sorry. Notaku rather thought this was redundant; if he got hurt, she'd hurt him more. But then he thought he'd rather face a rampaging boar than an angry mother. 

Bryon grasped his son's shoulder and smiled at him. "I'm very proud. You did very well yesterday. And you will do well now." He glanced out the window at the pinkening sky, and embraced his son. Notaku hugged him back. "Go on, now. You'd best get going before your mother decided she's gonna latch onto you and not let go." He smiled gently at Kuma, trying to get a bit of a smile out of her, but it only happened that she cried harder. 

Grabbing his duffel and pushing his glasses back onto his face, Notaku nodded. "Okay...well...I'll see you guys midsummer. Don't let everyone hog all the best Gummiberries." 

"I'll keep that in mind," said Bryon with a chuckle. 

At first, Notaku was not sure how to go, but finally he just turned around and opened the door. "Don't look back," he whispered to himself. Because if he did, he wasn't going to want to go. He didn't want to go now, for that matter, but he did. He slid down the vine that trailed from his home to the ground, and landed lightly upon the packed earth. Following the trail that led from the Valley, he began his journey. 

Had he looked back, he would have seen Bryon and Kuma Barbic standing on the giant limb on which their house was built, watching him until he was out of sight. 

--- 

As Notaku walked, his fear faded, and a bit of boredom set in. He was boy used to being active, and doing many things, whether it was reading, or swimming, or climbing, or playing games with his friends. He had never been one who enjoyed hiking. 

A couple of hours into his trek, he removed his cloak, leaving him bare-chested in the morning sun. It did feel nice, though, to be enjoying the warmth and the smells of a summer morning. And as he walked, he began to feel the growing sense of excitement about his coming journey. Yes, it would be dangerous, and the stakes were high, but he couldn't deny the exhilaration of the adventure. 

Though as the sun began to rise, and thus did the temperature, the excitement was wearing a little thin. Notaku had walked now for a while without stopping, and the tops of the trees in the Valley were only just visible. He dug his map out of his bag, which showed the route to the cave where he assumed he would find out just where he was supposed to go. 

By noon, Notaku was very hot, and tired. He decided that he was going to sit down for a rest. He debated trying to hunt something for lunch, but his only choices at this point were reptiles, and he did not particularly relish the idea of eating a lizard for lunch. Though he thought he was going to have to, come sundown. 

Still, he could at least rest, and take a little water. According to the map he held, the cave he sought was two days' journey, maybe two and a half, from the Valley. That meant that he would have no shade or respite from the sun for that long; he wondered if maybe he should not travel by night. But then it would take a while to be able to adjust his sleep schedule to fit that kind of travel. But then he thought, didn't the more dangerous beasts come out at night? Would he rather meet them asleep or awake? 

Notaku thought on this for ten minutes or so as he took a couple of small swigs from his waterskin. "Nighttime," he said to himself. "I can travel my moonlight most the nights, and there's not a whole lot in the open desert I need light for." He would have to be sparing with the lantern, as he did not have a huge amount of oil for it. But then it would not be a huge deal to make torches with all the scrub brush and dry tumbleweeds about. 

But for now, that was not necessary. Notaku decided that he would take a nap now, if he could, covering up with the cloak so that the sun didn't burn his skin and sap the water from his body. Sleeping would use less energy as well, which was imperative during the scorching days. 

Notaku yawned, and thought that maybe sleeping now would not be so difficult. He was tired from having woken so early, after a night of light, fitful sleep. He put his pack on the ground, and after a moment, capped the waterskin tightly and put it in his bag as well. He took out the cloak and draped it over him and lay on the sand, using his pack as a pillow. Surprisingly, sleep came easily to him. 

When Notaku woke, the sun was on the wester, and the temperature was less severe. Yes, he thought. This is definitely the way to go. He sat up and cast the cloak from his body, wincing at how hot he had gotten just lying down. His fur was damp with sweat, and taking the cloak off was a great relief. There was a warm wind blowing, and on his damp body, it was quite refreshing. 

He risked another sip of his water before continuing. 

Notaku walked until daylight, without anything untoward happening during the night. The cries of coyotes far off made him a little nervous, that he kept his sling loaded and ready, but he had no need to use it that night. As the hours dragged by, Notaku began to get weary, but he was determined to see it through until dawn, when he figured he could crash and get himself more or less on a sleep-by-day schedule. He did make it, though when he stopped for the night, he was too weary to write on his parchment, which he had intended to do before sleeping. At least he had been able to find a rock outcropping that would afford a little bit of shelter. 

When he woke, it was evening, and he was very hungry. He was going to have to hunt something down here, and soon; it had been a day and a half since he'd eaten breakfast. Notaku knew how to hunt, and he knew how to prepare and preserve his food; most Barbic cubs are taught how to survive in the wilds. But there had to be food to _hunt_, first, and this was proving itself a great hindrance to getting a meal. For an hour, Notaku crouched behind the rocks, searching ground and sky for something to strike down, but was having little luck. The desert areas were not fantastic hunting grounds. But he remained patient, no matter how frustrated he was getting, and this patience was soon rewarded. 

As the sun dipped halfway below the horizon, Notaku caught sight of movement nearby. He checked the wind direction, and was happy that he was downwind of whatever it was, and would be less likely to be spotted. And his tan fur blended well with the desert sands. 

As he watched, he saw that it was a jackrabbit! That would make a fine meal...actually it would make several meals for the small bear if he cooked it well and ate it throughout the day. He wished he had some salt to preserve it with! Of course, that was if he caught the blasted thing to begin with. He watched the rabbit carefully for about ten minutes. It was a big male, which made Notaku happy. Most Barbics are taught not to hunt females if at all possible, as they might be pregnant, or caring for young. 

As the rabbit investigated some scruffy desert brush, Notaku stood, slowly, and readied his sling. The rabbit paused, sniffed, then went back to its meal. This would be the part, if any, where he lost his prey, for to get enough force to kill a creature, he needed to get a good spin going. 

But luck was with the young Barbic. The sling was nearly silent as he spun it, then let go, sending the smooth, round stone hurtling at the grazing creature. The rabbit, sensing danger, raised its head in alarm, but was struck a moment later and fell to the ground. 

Notaku did not particularly like killing, and sighed, not sure whether to feel happy he had succeeded, or upset he had had to take a creature's life. In the end, he felt a little bit of both. He crept over to the downed creature and checked to see if it was dead, because if it wasn't, he would use his knife to finish the job. One thing that he never would do is let a creature suffer. But his shot was true, and the creature was dead. 

Notaku spoke a soft prayer of thanks to the rabbit for giving his life, before taking the rabbit's body and heading back to his rock outcropping. He laid the body on a rock while he went about gathering sticks for a fire, keeping an eye on his kill in case anything decided it was going to try and steal his food. But nothing did, and soon, Notaku had a nice, hot fire going. He let the fire get hot while he went a few yards away to skin his meal. 

Dark had fallen when Notaku's rabbit was cooked. He cooked the meat quite a lot more than he preferred, but knew that it would not spoil so easily if it was well done. He cut it into portions, and ate only sparingly. He thought that this meal might last him three days if he was lucky enough that it didn't spoil. Though in the heat, he feared it might go faster. But that was all right. Gummi bears dealt a little better with starvation than most did, as their bodies were designed to store fat when need be. Their feral cousins, after all, would sleep for months in the winter, living on what they ate during the months previous. 

Notaku wrote down his journey thus far on his parchment, and then used sand to bury his fire, and left the rabbit's skin for the ants and scavengers to have. He had neither the tools nor the time to tan the skin. He wrapped his extra meat in a bit of torn cloth from his cloak, and continued on his way. 

By the end of the night, by the light of the full moon, Notaku squinted his eyes at a shape on the edges of his vision. He checked his map and let out a whoop of triumph. The cave! It had to be! And only a half a day out, by the look! He laughed as a coyote in the distance answered his call, and settled down for the night. He built up a small fire beside him, as with the meat in his pack, he could not be certain it wouldn't attract unwanted guests. And the fire would help keep them away. Cautious, at the very least. And it seemed to work, as when he woke near dusk, he was relatively unchewed on...unless one counted the mosquitoes. That was the only thing he hated about the great outdoors was bugs. 

At least Gummi bears seemed to be fairly immune to fleas! That would just be embarrassing. 

The cave was not very big, in fact from the look of it, it seemed like it wasn't big enough to hide anything in. Notaku felt a thrill of alarm as the thought occurred: what if whatever was there was gone? As he approached the cave and gave its shallow, bare interior a dismayed look, he became afraid that that was exactly the case. That whatever had been here that he needed to look like had been lost. 

Should he go back? Precious days had been wasted already, that idea left a bad taste in Notaku's mouth. Perhaps this was the wrong cave? Had he read the map wrong? Or had the mages' vision perhaps been wrong somehow? This possibility he discarded almost as soon as he had it; the scrying stone could not be fooled by anything less than the gods' interference, and the gods did not generally interfere with the affairs of mortals. 

"Okay, calm down," he said aloud. "Sit down and think it over." That was good advice! Notaku stepped into the cave, intending to take a few moments, eat some meat, and take a bit of water. But it did not work out that way. No sooner had he stepped into the cave, as the ground beneath gave way, and he was suddenly falling. He let a yell of alarm as he landed on stone, about three feet down, and began sliding down a natural chute. 

He tumbled from the bottom of this twisting slide to land in an undignified heap on cool, smooth stone. Dazed and shocked from the sudden thrill ride, Notaku stayed where he was for a moment, getting his wits back about him. Okay. Well, sitting down and thinking _had_ been the right course of action after all. 

A quick check determined that he was not injured beyond a few bruises that he could deal with. Nothing was broken, and all of his limbs were attached. He laughed, belatedly, as the ride _had_ been fun. A tiny bit of light trickled from the hole above, and he looked up...he would be able to get out of here, he hoped, but it would be a lot more difficult than the first part of his Test had been. Now he didn't even have a rope. Just a very slippery slide. 

But for now, he had a cavern to explore, and hopefully a clue to where to begin. 

Notaku brought his lantern out of his bag, thanking the powers that were it had survived the fall, but then it had been wrapped in his cloak, so it was protected. He frowned, as he realized his glasses were not on his face, and spent a few moments finding those, before he could get his lantern lit with one of the few matches he had brought. 

The chamber he was in was large, many times Notaku's height, and wide enough for him to lie down in ten times over. It continued only one way, and so he shouldered his pack and began to walk. 

It was creepy down there, in the damp caverns, with only the flickering light of the lantern to guide him. But in Notaku's mind, that only made it more enjoyable. The adventure of exploring new places, and without some adult there helping him, was enough to keep the worry of what might happen to the Valley out of his mind. The air was much cooler down here, and that was a great relief after the heat of the desert. He also would not have to drink so much water down here. And that was also good, because his water supply was getting low. He had been trying to drink sparingly, but it was hot, and the heat made him thirsty. 

As he walked, always downward, the cavern began to narrow, until while it remained many times Notaku's height, it was so narrow he had to squeeze his way through. It was just a lucky thing that he was not claustrophobic. Still, he might just have to turn back, if the passage did not widen again, because at this point, he was having to sidle sideways, and suck in his gut. 

At just the point where he was going to do just that, Notaku realized that the pressure on his body was less, and that he could move a little more freely. Heartened by this, he continued, and indeed the passage widened once more into a scene that made Notaku's eyes widen with awe. 

He did not need his lantern here; the enormous chamber was lit by glowing crystals that grew on the walls, creating prismatic rainbows in the air. He blew out the lamp to conserve oil, and stuffed it back into his pack. He gazed, enrapt, at the crystals, which surely could not be natural. Were they bear-made, then? Human made? A creation of magic? 

It was only after he had stared for a good five minutes that he noticed something else about the chamber; it was wet. When he put his hand on the wall, his fur was dampened by trickles moving down the stone, and when he looked down, he saw a pool of glittering clear water. "Talk about lucky!" he exclaimed in delight, kneeling down at the pool. He was not sure if it was drinkable just yet, but at the very least, he could bathe in it! He leaned down and sniffed at the water, which smelled as clear as he had ever encountered. Which was rather strange for standing water... Looking up, Notaku took in the other details of the cave. As he listened, he heard the very gentle sound of moving water, and as he looked down into the pool, he caught the telltale ripples that indicated an underground spring, feeding this pool. 

Setting his pack down, Notaku climbed into the water to investigate, and found that he was right. There was a crack in the rock, and fresh water from underneath bubbled up, and the water from the pool flowed downwards, deeper into the cavern. 

He spent several minutes bathing in the cool waters, and drinking his fill. He dumped the warm water from his waterskin, and replaced it with cool, clear water. He grinned contentedly at the pool as he stood up to retrieve his bag. "Thanks," he said to the water, as he waded across. 

Notaku had no idea of time down here in the caverns, but as he traveled, he did begin to get hungry. The remaining meat he had was beginning to smell a little old, but for now it was still edible, and so Notaku ate his fill. And then some. Because by the time he would be hungry again, the meat would be no good anymore. He felt very full by the time he was done, and still had a little bit of meat left, so he left this in the cave. 

The strange, glowing crystals still grew above him, and to the sides, and so he was not wanting for light. As he walked, Notaku would gaze at the beauty of these crystals, wondering again how they had been made. Why had none of the Barbics discovered such a place by now? It wasn't all that far from the Valley! But then he remembered the narrow passage he had gone through, and realized that even a Gummi bear adult would not fit through. And no children would be allowed this far. 

The narrow steam that flowed from the pool above followed Notaku into the depths of the cave, and he was glad of this. He decided to empty his waterskin and simply drink from the stream, until he was forced to leave it. And then he would gather it fresh again for the next leg of his journey. 

His destination turned out to be another large chamber, again lit with the glowing crystals, and ending in a smaller pool that seemed to trickle off into inaccessible parts of the caverns. But that was not what was so shocking. The shock came when Notaku realized that someone had lived here long enough to have a crudely made bed over in the corner! He blinked, and ran over to it, wondering if perhaps he wasn't seeing things that weren't there. But no, it was there, and it was real. A badly-woven basket sat beside the bed, which was made of what looked like deadwood and dried brush. In this basket were two metal dishes, and a ceramic cup that was broken in half. A tarnished spoon and fork lay in the bottom, and Notaku wondered just how long they had been there. A lantern sat on a natural shelf nearby, next to which sat a metal jug of lamp oil. 

How had they gotten in? Perhaps there was another way. 

Upon investigating the bed and its bedclothes, Notaku discovered a nest of bugs living in the blankets, and surmised that it probably had not been slept in for quite a while. The dishes and cup smelled of the caves, not of whatever food was on them last. The lamp was dark, and its glass stained by the humid atmosphere of the inner caverns. Notaku was fairly sure that no one had lived here for quite some time. 

However he did find something else in the bed, once the bugs had cleared out; a journal. The outside of the leather that was folded around it was moldy and rotting, but the pages beneath were intact, and readable. Suppressing the urge to gag, Notaku peeled away the slimy leather and took the journal into the best lit area of the cave to read it. It was in English, the language most humans used. And Notaku felt a rush of dislike. "Why should I even bother reading this, anyway?" he asked himself. And the answer was a simple one: because it's here. He had been sent here for information, and here, in his hands...was information. Whether it would help or not remained to be seen, but it was still pretty foolish to pass up the chance simply because a human's hand had scrawled the words. 

Notaku didn't really hate humans, per se. But most Barbic cubs were raised to believe they were untrustworthy and cruel. According to legend, it was because of humans that their clan had been driven to brave the harsh lands of the desert centuries before. It was only luck that they found the Valley, which had water, and plants, and wildlife. Notaku had never even _seen_ a human before, as they were rare in these parts. 

Shaking his head, the boy took up the book and began reading. He knew the language, though it was awkward and difficult for him to translate. The Gummi languages were so much smoother. He peered at the date, and it looked like this journal was not even a year old. 

The first few pages contained nothing interesting. They only detailed this person's journey west, from a land farther east than Notaku could even imagine. This person had a horse! Notaku had seen unicorns of course, though there were not many in the Valley, but he had never seen a horse. He had heard that they were even bigger than unicorns were. But the horse had died in the desert. Notaku frowned as he read on, finding that the human had not cared much about his steed's death, and that if his journey was successful, it was well worth the horse's death. The adults were right, he thought. Humans were evil. 

There were a few scattered entries that sounded a lot like his own had been, about him crossing the desert at night, when it was cool, and eating what he could hunt. But about halfway through, the entries got a lot more interesting. 

Notaku's eyes were wide as he read an entry that seemed to have been made at the end of summer. It described the Valley from a distance, and Derelict Peak. The mountain seemed to be this human's destination. 

> _I have finally found it, the mountain of lore. I can see its pointed peaks in the distance, can almost smell the power within it. It is no more than a week's journey from where I stand now. When I get my hands on that gem, there shall be nothing to stop me._

Another entry read thus: 

> _Tomorrow, I will get there. The legends speak of a hole in the top, a hole in the very mountain, that will lead down to where the gem lies. Such great power, in a single stone. With it, no mage or wizard shall match my own power._

Notaku called the human something he would not normally say in front of his parents, and scowled darkly. This was him. This was the human that was in the mages' vision. The human who was now endangering the entire clan of Barbics in the Valley. 

He went on to read, growling as the words described the human's success in obtaining the gem. The volcano, whose top was open like a great mouth, had been easy enough to scale down into. The gem had been exactly where the legends told him, deep in a cavern, on an ornate iron pole. There was even a crude drawing of the pole, which looked rather like a large scepter stuck into the rock. I'll have to keep this, he thought. It describes where I need to put the gem. 

The next few entries were filled with gloat, which just disgusted Notaku. He was prone to gloat once in a while, but this was ridiculous! Even the most arrogant of Barbics didn't usually gloat this much. 

Notaku sighed, and sat back, glancing up to the rainbows that crossed over each other in the air, from the prism-like crystals that illuminated the chamber. There was every color of the spectrum there; crystals of green, red, blue, indigo... It was soothing to look at. It was weird, Notaku thought, that this human could be among all this beauty, and not care for a bit of it. Only the power that some gem might give him. 

Frowning, he looked back to the journal. Seemed the human had indeed found the caverns through a different passage, and made this crude living chamber. He intended only to stay a few nights, while he recovered from the arduous journey, as there was water and cool air. 

The last entry was the one describing the cave, and the living area the human had set up...and after that, there was nothing. 

That was puzzling to Notaku. There was nothing further written in the journal, only a host of blank pages. He flipped through them all, wondering what had happened to the human, or if he had simply stopped writing. But he had detailed his quest up until then, why stop? 

The child yawned, holding a hand to his mouth to cover it. Whatever the mystery was, he was going to have to wait until he slept some, to figure it out. He was not sure what time it was, but he did know that he was very tired. 

He considered trying the bed, but remembering the family of bugs that had been living there, he decided the stone was quite good enough for him. He curled up on the floor of the cavern and closed his eyes. 


	4. 4

Chapter 4

Notaku woke up hungry. As wondrous as these caverns were, they were quite short of edibles. A few minutes' search found a stash of dried meats from the previous occupant, but the dampness of the cave ensured that they were quite inedible by this point in time. He did find a salt lick among the human's supplies, and when he had washed the top layer of salt off, it was clean! He wrapped it back in the cloth he had found it in, and stuck it in his pack. Once he was able to hunt some more meat, he could use the salt to preserve it. 

Oh well. He had water, he supposed he should be grateful for that. The boy drank for a long time, filling his empty belly with water, and hoping that would satisfy it for now. He wrote a bit on his parchments, then gathered his belongings together. After a moment's consideration, he also snagged the lamp and the oil from the stone shelf. Once he was sure he had everything, including the human's journal. He set off once more. 

Notaku was grateful that there were no bats in this cave. It wasn't that he was afraid of bats, but where there were bats, there was guano, and mucking through bat guano would not have been high on his list of things to do. Especially in bare feet! 

He sang quietly to himself as he walked through the corridors. He was also thankful that there were not too many twists and turns, and that there were not multiple caverns and passageways. He would have gotten hopelessly lost. 

The first part of the day (or was it night?) was highly uneventful, and consisted mostly of walking along the corridor, and drinking from the stream. He did notice that as much as he was drinking, he had to go to the bathroom a lot, and was glad that no one else was around. The cavern was a little short on private privies. 

Notaku was not sure how far he should go, before he turned back. The thought occurred that if he were to travel too far, and this ended up in a dead end, that it would be a lot of wasted days of travel. But a moment's thought made him realize that he was not yet finished down here, in the caverns. He had gotten some information, yes, but was no closer to knowing _where_ the gem was, or what he would have to do do gain it. And so, he would continue. 

The cavern environment was quite foreign to a cub who was used to trees, and open spaces, and fresh, arid air. Humidity was not something that he encountered often; it was strange. It smelled weird, it felt weird, breathing it in. The dark of the caves, held at bay by the glowing of the crystals; the echoes of the boy's footfalls, and the trickling of the streams. Though fascinating, it was a little intimidating at times. 

It happened several hours later, as Notaku was beginning to get a little drowsy, and weary of walking. The crystals were getting fewer, and dimmer, and he stumbled over something that caused him to sprawl painfully on the stone. Growling, he sat up and investigated the damage. It wasn't bad, just a couple of scraped knees and a bruise or two, and a very injured pride. 

Annoyed now, the boy brought out his lantern and lit it, to see what it was that he stumbled over. He raised the wick, to increase the light output, and lifted the lantern up to look. 

Bones. 

Notaku gasped, his eyes widening, suddenly shaking with trepidation. There was a mass of bones lying on the bare stone, lain in the position that Notaku assumed the bone's owner had died in. And the thing was, these were not the bones of an animal; they were the bones of something that walked on two legs. And it was something far larger than Gummies. Even Barbics. 

He spent several minutes staring at the skeleton in shock, his eyes taking in the strips of skin and clothing that still clung to it, the sprawled position, the hair that clung to the scalp. It had been an awful surprise for the cub, and for a moment he had to fight the urge to run. "J-just calm down," he told himself. "It can't hurt you, it's dead. It's just...it's just bones." You mean it's a dead body, he thought, and closed his eyes tightly. That was the problem with trying to convince himself that any given situation wasn't as bad as it could be; there was always that little part of his mind that came up with reasons why it _was_. And that part was usually more persuasive. 

But then he thought of what his father would have done in this situation, and was pretty sure that running was not an option he would consider. And so he stayed where he was. 

Once he'd gotten hold of his nerves, and he wasn't shaking, he looked at the skeleton once more. Now that he was aware of the skeleton's presence, he could detect a mild smell of decay. Fortunately, most of the flesh had already rotted away, else he'd be throwing up all the water he'd drunk in the last day or so. He wasn't sure what was holding his fascination, why he didn't just walk on, but there was something strange enough about the appearance of this skeleton that he didn't want to move on just yet. For one, what was he? Surely humans were not that big...were they? How had he died, down here in the serene caverns, where a twelve year old boy was having little difficulty surviving? He had not died through lack of water, surely, and food would not be that hard to find. Who was he? The sneaking suspicion that this was indeed a human, and not only that, the human that had stolen the gem, made its way into the boy's mind. But he was still too struck by the size of the skeleton to credit this. To a small-statured Gummi cub, it seemed he was looking at a giant. 

Well, a voice said reasonably into his head. Search the clothing, see what you can find. Perhaps the gem will be hidden within the confines of the tunic, or in a pouch, and you'll be able to go home. Notaku did not think that it would be so easy, but there should be no harm in it. 

_If_ he was able to force himself to do it. 

The initial contact was what took the most courage; simply touching the clothing that belonged to a dead man was not something that most youths had to confront. But there was steel in the boy's spirit, enough that he was able to grasp the tattered tunic. Once he had done that, and nothing horrible happened, it was easier. 

Notaku was very glad that he had not given in to his first impulse and run, for while he found no gem, he did find what he had been sent to the caverns to find. In a moldy leather pouch was a thick parchment, strangely new-looking and unmarked by dirt or slime. Intrigued, he pulled it out and looked at it. The script was difficult to read, but to his astonishment, it was written in Barbic! Not just the more commonly-known Gummi language, but the Barbic dialect that his clan used! Surely none of the Valley had written this? 

At first, he suspected it might be something one of the mages wrote. The suspicion that the whole thing might have been a set up for his and the others' Tests, but he quickly dismissed the possibility. None of the mages would have sent someone so young on a mission as dangerous as this, unless the need was dire. It drove most cubs nuts, how protective the Barbics were of them. And certainly they would not have lied about having the visions simply so they could put a group of cubs through their Tests of Bearhood. It was fairly arrogant to think it. Still, it was very strange. 

It took Notaku a few moments to decipher the ornate script, but when he did, he felt flabbergasted. It read thus: 

> _To he bold enough to find this record, keep this tale in thine heart. This one hath sought riches and power, and hath wrought upon himself destruction. Earth's powers cannot be contained by any one but Earth herself. If thou hath the courage and the hearte to continue thy journey, then seek us where the streams flow clear, and the trees grow green. A fortnight west, and then seven days north, and, and with the courage in thine heart, thy quest shall be complete._

Notaku stared at the parchment for several moments, trying to fathom who could have left this here, and when, but no answers came. "A fortnight west...two weeks." Notaku was totally and completely turned around in the caverns, and had no idea where west happened to be. He would need to get out of the caves. 

After searching the clothes further and finding nothing more, Notaku stood and tucked the parchment into his duffel. He would follow the passageway a little farther yet, in case there was another way out, but if he could not find one, he would backtrack. 

An hour later, the boy felt a cool breeze on his face, and heard the cries of a desert bird. He could not help but grin as he stepped out once more onto desert ground, the caverns finally behind him. It was quite past midday, and the sun shone brightly, but was not quite evening. Notaku's timing had gotten a bit off in the cave, but it could be easily rectified, if he simply pushed on until dawn. He turned and looked at the exit he had just used, and realized that it was quite impossible to see unless one was right on top of it. The human had simply been lucky to stumble upon it. 

He stopped only once that night, when the stream from the caves ended in a largish, oasis-type pool. The boy took ten minutes or so to rest, and fill his waterskin as full as it would go. After a moment's consideration, he decided that he would bathe, as well as he could without soap at any rate. He was smelling a little musty from being in the strange, damp caves for so long. And so he stripped down nude and jumped into the water. 

He was glad he decided to take a little while to enjoy the cool water. It refreshed his energy, and uplifted his mood. Using the coarse desert sand on his skin, he was able to wash away most of the grit and grime he had accumulated. And his newly-trimmed fur allowed the sand to scrub him fairly clean. He doused his cloak and kilt as well, washing them as thoroughly as he could. He was quite sodden when he was finished, but felt completely invigorated. Notaku took a drink at the pool large enough to make his stomach gurgle, and then continued on his way. 

It was not until two days later that he was able to hunt down another jackrabbit. He'd gone without for three days by then, and could scarcely wait until it was cooked enough to eat, much less to preserve. He cut off a good hunk of the beast to eat while the rest cooked enough to salt down with good results. He had been getting scared there for a while, afraid he would not be able to find anything to eat, as he was quite unaccustomed to going without food. The ground cover that the jackrabbits fed on were not good for Gummies to eat, as it made them ill. But for now, he was fed enough that he could deal. It was not enough to be to his liking, but he knew it would be foolish to eat his fill. He did not know how long this meat would have to last. 

As before, he slept in the day, and traveled by night. Sometimes he woke having gotten overheated, and felt like he wanted to vomit what he had eaten the night previous. He never did, but at times it was a near thing. He desired nothing more after these searing days than to take what was left in his waterskin and dump it over his head. But of course he did no such thing, for that would condemn him, not to mention his clan, to death. 

But it was certainly tempting! 

The trek was tedious and unpleasant. The summer was only beginning, and already the sun beat down on the hard-packed earth like an oven on earthenware. Though the bottoms of Notaku's feet were as tough as old leather, the rest of him didn't appreciate the heat so much. And unless he managed to find the dubious shelter of a rock outcropping for when he slept, the ground would get quite hot enough to burn his skin if he lay there too long. By consequence, he sometimes got very little sleep. 

A week out from the caverns, he began to see something in the distance. Squinting through the glare the sun placed on his spectacles, he tried to make out what it was. For now, all he could see was a mass of green, shimmering in the heat from the baked ground. "Well that's useful," he grouched. 

Notaku was not in a good mood. For the past three days, he had been wakened at least twice by the heat of the ground. Even sleeping on his cloak didn't help, and it exposed his skin to the sun overhead. And beyond that, almost since the caves, he'd been getting the annoying feeling that he was being watched. 

But how? Certainly no one from the Valley had followed him, or sending him out here would have been a completely futile gesture. Who else could it be? In the end, he concluded with complete annoyance, that it was his own paranoia. Either that, or some giant creature, that wanted to eat his flesh and bones for its midday snack. That would just figure, he thought churlishly. 

That day at dawn, Notaku plopped himself down on the still-hot sand and brought out a piece of his cured rabbit meat. He tore into it with his teeth, taking out his frustrations on his meager meal. He glared at his waterskin, as if it were emptying itself of its own accord, and swallowed the meat. 

He did not eat much, and this was as much because he did not have much, as because it was heavily salted. And he could not drink much water. He only ate when the pangs in his belly were too loud to ignore. As it was, Notaku was beginning to worry. His water was more than half gone, and that was on the strictest rationing he could manage without risking death in the arid clime. And again, fear was beginning to worm its way around his mind. It was very distracting! 

The boy distracted himself from his griping belly, and his sunburned skin, and parched throat by writing on his parchments. He poured out some of his fear and frustration here, which helped, a little. And as dawn's face appeared over the horizon, he curled up beside a large boulder to sleep. 

When the young Gummi bear next awoke, it was not night, as he expected. Nor was it the hot ground that had woken him. The survival instinct that all Barbics possessed had gone off rather loudly, and only his fatigue had kept the boy from waking before now. But when he did, a flash of alarm jolted him to full wakefulness. There was a shadow in front of him on the ground. 

And it was not his. 


	5. 5

Chapter 5

In an instant, the young Barbic was on his feet, his sling in his hand, looking around wildly at what it was that was casting the shadow of a giant. 

As it turned out, it was a human, and there was more than one. Notaku gaped. The smallest of them was easily twice Notaku's height! Five of them stood in close proximity, surrounding the young Barbic, looking down at him with varying degrees of amusement. "It thinks it's a warrior," one of them said in a dialect that was crude even for English. 

"Are it the one we need?" asked another. 

"Yes, I think so. Grab it, and see if it's got the gem." 

As the human spoke, Notaku spent the time desperately trying to shake his mind out of the shock it seemed to be in. The skeleton he had seen in the caverns did not even seem as big as this! To a child who has seen only the small-statured folks of his tribe, and who was quite small for his age, such humans seemed to be giants. 

But to his credit, he recovered quickly, and he could easily see that the human giants considered him anything but a threat. To the back of his mind he put the fear, and the indignation of being referred to as "it", and being spoken of as if he were not there. Or perhaps too dull to understand. As long as their legs were, he would not be able to outrun them, and so the only thing left was to fight. 

He could take out one, maybe two with his sling before the others moved in, making it impossible to use his distance weapon. Lightning quick, these thoughts and observations flashed through his consciousness, so that as the first human finished telling the other to see if Notaku had the gem, his hand had darted into his ammunition bag, grabbed a smooth, round stone, and hurled it at the biggest of the lot. 

The man bellowed as the stone hit him, before he could register what had happened, and Notaku was reaching for another stone. He was lucky to get off a second shot, as the humans gaped at him in astonishment. The second human did not go down, but he yelled in pain, grabbing his arm, which looked as if it had gone nerveless. 

"Get him!" one of the humans growled, and the remaining three lunged. 

Notaku yelled in alarm and dodged to the left as one of the smaller humans dove at him, leaving the human to concentrate for a split second on not sprawling on the sand. A shadow behind the youth alerted him to a second attempt, and he was able to dodge that one, as well. But the advantage he had of being underestimated would not last too much longer, now that he had demonstrated his skill. He had to get away from them, on the outside, so that he could face the lot instead of being surrounded by them! 

In ensuing chaos, the boy darted between the legs of a tall, skinny man, dodging a fist and a kick from the other humans. He spun, drawing another stone from his pouch as he did, and loading his sling. 

He now faced four angry humans. The one he had struck lay on the sand, out cold so far as Notaku could tell, and the others had drawn their weapons. An outsider might have seen the ludicrousness of the scene that played itself out under the fierce sun. Four armed humans, facing a bear cub that was less than half their size, and as things stood then, the cub had come out the better. 

"Give it up, wretch," one of them growled, and Notaku's fur bristled at the insult. This human was a lean, muscular man who held a short sword in his hand. He seemed to be the leader, and certainly the most intelligent sounding of the lot. "Give up the gem, and we shall spare your life." 

Notaku growled angrily at the human who had spoken, and glared at one of the smaller ones, who was going through his pack. "What if I don't have it?" he asked, challenge in his voice. 

A man who held a mace smirked unpleasantly. "Ye either has it, or ye knows how to get it." 

Another swordsman spoke. "And woe betide you if you don't give us what we want." 

"It's not here," reported the man who had gone through Notaku's belongings. "Unless it has it on its person...or whatever you'd call it, he doesn't have it." 

"Well then," said the leader. "Let's just find out." And with that, he lunged with his blade. Taking his lead, the others let out yells of challenge and charged. 

There was a whiz and a crack as Notaku's third sling round sought its target: a man's knee. The man howled and stumbled to the side as Notaku slipped under the slice of a blade. The boy had one advantage at the moment, and that was, ironically, his size. Gummi bear cubs were generally quick, and trained in fighting as Notaku was, these combined to allow him to dodge most attempts to strike or catch him. He caught a fist in the shoulder once that nearly made his knees collapse, and a slight graze from the mace that sent him sprawling against the boulder he had used for shelter. 

There are some that say a Barbic feels no fear, but this is not true in the slightest. If it were, the Barbic clans would be full of fools. But when they do feel fear, they don't show it, and Notaku was no exception. He growled as fiercely as he could (and admittedly, it wasn't all too grand a snarl) and jumped up onto the boulder, to get a bit more of an even footing if nothing else. He had the horrible feeling that he was going to come out the worse in this fight, and this filled him with a crushing sense of dread. He if died, his clan would die, unless they could somehow send another cub out. But how would they know? And even if he were only captured, that was a delay he could not afford. He had only six weeks to complete his quest, and already a week and a half had gone by! 

The higher position might have helped Notaku, but the boy did not get the chance to find out. A whiz through the air gave him only a split second to turn, when something thunked into his shoulder hard enough to knock him from the boulder. He sprawled, dazed in the sand, where a sharp, sudden pain blazed where he had been hit. He scrambled into a sitting position, staring in shock at the arrow shaft that now protruded from his shoulder. A sniper! Those miserable, cowardly humans had an archer hiding somewhere among the dunes! 

Notaku staggered to his feet as his assailants came around the corner to apprehend him, and he looked up at them in alarm. Gritting his teeth, he snapped off the arrow shaft and tried in desperation, to run for it, to find cover enough to rest a moment and recover his focus, but his mind was registering the full effect of the pain. And it was slowing him down. Needless to say, the young bear had never taken such an injury, and it was something he was finding difficult to deal with. 

The leader lunged at the boy, and tackled him back down to the ground, making him yell loudly in pain. He fought like a demon, and it was not until a second human came to help that they were able to pin the boy face down on the hot earth. Notaku yelled furiously at the top of his voice as he fought with all of his strength, but the humans had finally overcome the youth. 

Panting, the leader issued instructions. "Ashdown. Get the horses and bring Fletcher here, I will have to reward him for his marksmanship. Taylor, go see if Gregor is all right, he took a hard hit from this little wretch's sling." He then looked down at the furious cub, and narrowed his eyes. "You caught us by surprise. But it won't happen again." 

As the others did as they were ordered, the leader continued. "We'll take it back to camp, and see what it knows there." 

"We'll have to tend that arrow wound then, if we need to keep him alive." 

"That can wait. For now, I want him bound and secured. This boy fights like a demon." Notaku did notice that "it" had turned to "he" in their speech. 

"Maybe he _is_ a demon." 

"I suppose we'll find out." 

Notaku had stopped fighting...for now. The pain in his shoulder was making it nearly impossible to continue doing so. Panting for breath, his parched throat so much more prominent after such exertion, he listened to the two humans talk. He felt vaguely flattered that they considered him such a threat, him being outnumbered not to mention out-sized. But he also felt a sick cord of fear about what they were going to do to him. He also hoped that maybe the two humans would loosen their holds on him a bit so that he could perhaps squirm away, but that did not happen. The leader nearly had his full weight on the cub, and he showed no intentions of letting up. 

The sound of clopping hooves caught Notaku's attention then, and as he peered up between the humans that held him pinned, and for just a moment his fear, and anger, and pain were taken from his mind by sheer awe and astonishment. Horses. Human-sized horses. There were six of them, and any one of them could have trodden on Notaku and crushed him right then and there. He could not imagine a beast being so big. 

But then the two humans each grabbed one his arms in a cruelly tight grasp, and hauled him to his feet. "Gregor is dead," one of the men reported grimly. 

Notaku looked at that man, his eyes very wide, a sort of horrified disbelief washing over his mind. However he felt about these humans, he had never intended to kill any of them. Killing was something that a boy should never have to do. The human who had reported this, the one called Taylor, was looking at Notaku with an expression of hatred, but Notaku scarcely noticed. He was trying to process the idea that he had killed a man, had taken a life. 

Slowly, as if approaching from a distance, the sound of the men's conversation came to Notaku's ears. They were discussing how they were going to transport Notaku to their camp, since it was clear he intended to fight them at any opportunity. One of them suggested knocking the cub out, but the leader nixed the idea, not wanting to risk killing him. "The wretch is our only link to this gem," he said. 

"I'm not a wretch," Notaku growled, his voice hoarse from not taking enough water the past few days. 

The leader narrowed his eyes and shook Notaku hard. As he was holding the arm whose shoulder was injured, this made quite a strong point. "Silence," the human growled. Clenching his teeth, Notaku said no more, and only glared daggers at his captors. 

Finally it was decided that Notaku would be bound to Gregor's horse, and he would have a guard alongside him the whole way. Obviously, Notaku fought this, but with five humans surrounding him (including the archer that had shot him), his fighting had little effect. He ended up sitting on the vast saddle of one of the horses, the one that had apparently once belonged to the man Notaku had killed. His hands were tied tightly enough to the pommel of the saddle that it hurt his wrists. 

"Brooker!" one of them called to the leader. "Should we bind his feet?" 

"Aye! Tightly!" 

The man nodded, and grabbed Notaku's left foot, having another man grab his right, on the other side of the horse. Notaku was not nearly big enough to straddle the horse to ride him normally, and so they ended up tying his feet to the pommel, too. This was a highly uncomfortable position. 

The cub miserably watched the humans gather his belongings, cramming them all into the duffel he had carried. He realized suddenly that he had lost his glasses in the struggle, which explained why he couldn't seem to focus his eyes. "My glasses better not be broken," he growled, though it was a rather weak attempt at ferocity. 

"What, ye means these?" one man said, picking something up off the ground. He considered it for a moment then dropped the object on the ground, stomping hard on it with his boot. The dismayed cub heard the crunch of glass against sand, and growled in frustration. He would be a worthless shot with his sling, if he couldn't see! "Oh, by the gods, my mistake," said the man, mock regret dripping from his words. "I do believe I mighta broke 'em. Pity, that is." 

Too incensed to speak, Notaku glowered furiously as the man got up onto his own horse. 

The leader, Brooker, called then, once he saw that his men were ready. "All right men, to camp!" 

The horses broke into a trot then, making Notaku clench his teeth as the sudden jolt of the giant beast. He glanced down at his shoulder, which was red with blood, and for a moment he nearly panicked. But he remembered something his father told him once, that a wound almost always looked worse than it really was. Still, seeing the fur on his shoulder soaked crimson, with the wooden shaft of an arrow sticking from it, was a very intimidating sight. 

Noticing the look on Notaku's face, the archer that had shot him rode up alongside the cub's horse. "Too bad I only got one shot off, eh?" Fletcher said with a smirk. "You just got ter a-perseeate how the razor sharp edges of an arrowhead can slice through skin...just like that." He made a motion like an arrow sticking into his chest, and laughed. 

Notaku was not amused. I can see why the grown-ups warn us against them, he thought miserably. They're even worse than the stories say... 

It was a two day journey back to the humans' camp, and it was a long, miserable trip for their young captive. The pain from the arrow wound was enough that he could not keep from crying by the end of the first night, though his fur was so damp with perspiration that it was not noticeable. The humans ignored him for the most part, except for the couple of times they gave him something to drink. They didn't want him dead, after all, and the heat was fierce. 

When they stopped for the night, Notaku was left tied to the horse, and the humans took it in turns to guard him. Notaku had tried to loosen the bonds, but found that they were far too tight. In addition to all of this, the position they had tied the cub in was making half his muscles cramp up. 

All in all, after the two day trip, Notaku was not a happy cub. 

The humans' camp was not much in the way of campsites, but it did look as if they had anticipated quite a long journey. There was a wagon there, designed to be drawn by four horses, though for the moment, none were hitched to it. They had managed to find a straggling little stream to camp by, which gave them enough water for the horses and themselves, Notaku supposed. Yet another human was there at camp, guarding the supplies. A crossbow was slung over his shoulder, and his face was heavily battle-scarred. "What's all this, Brooker?" he asked. 

The leader gave a humorless smile. "This...Gummi here...he's the one our Seers described. He can lead us to the gem of power." 

The scarred man raised a brow. "Really. Interesting. I expected someone a little bigger than that. Is it even an adult?" 

"I don't think so," said Brooker as he dismounted. The others humans were also getting off their mounts, leading them to the stream to drink, and some of them drinking water from their canteens. Notaku would have liked some himself, not having gotten a whole lot during the trip, but he would rather die of thirst than ask. Brooker then walked up to Notaku's mount and looked at the cub. Weary from the heat, and his injury, Notaku could not muster much of a glower. About the most he could manage was a sullen glare. "Well," he said. "First, to tend that wound of yours. Wouldn't want to kill our little font of information, would we?" Notaku did not answer, only watched the human rummage in a basket that sat in their cart. He came out with several clean rags. "Fletcher, catch a cup of water from the stream there, will you? Bring it over here?" 

"Aye." The archer did as he was asked, and brought over a ceramic cup filled with stream water. 

Brooker took it and set it on the cart, then grasped Notaku's arm firmly, while the boy was still bound and not likely to fight him. Notaku frowned, wondering just how he was going to be "tended." But when the human reached for the stump of the shaft that was buried in the boy's shoulder, he understood at once that he was just going to rip it out. "No, wait-" he croaked, but was cut off by a dizzying shock of pain. He screamed, not able to help it, as the wound began to bleed into his fur once more. While Notaku was still dealing with it, Brooker cleaned the wound with water and bound it tightly with the rags. 

For several minutes, Notaku noticed very little, and only concentrated on not passing out. He suddenly let out the breath he had been holding, and had to control himself to not hyperventilate. He didn't even notice when his legs were unbound, and a metal shackle tightly affixed to one of them. 

He didn't protest when his hands were untied and he was lifted from the horse, though he found he could not stand just yet; his cramped muscled refused to obey his brain's commands. He was lifted by the scruff of the neck and carried easily to the wagon, to which the chain on his shackle was affixed. 

For the time being, he was left alone, for which the boy was grateful. He crept under the wagon to gain some shelter from the sun, and lay down wearily on the sand, trying to slowly persuade his muscles to loosen up. It seemed that the humans wanted to eat a meal and recover from their unexpected battle; Notaku could see that the one he'd hit in the knee was limping badly, and overheard him say that he thought his knee had been broken. And all of them had at least a bruise from the fight. 

This brought Notaku back to the fact that one of the men, the biggest one he had first hit, had not come back with this party. He lay some two days behind, never to return to his home. Notaku glanced down at his bandaged shoulder, and the bruises he himself had sustained in the fight. He had a cut over his left eye, and a swollen lip. And still he found himself regretting the human's death. Death was not something to be taken lightly. Cub or not, Notaku understood this fact well. 

Sometime after noon, a large mug of water and a bowl of what looked like sand soup was placed next to the wagon, and Notaku sat up under the wagon to investigate. Moving stiffly, he drank half the water, then picked up the bowl. No one in his clan had ever made anything like gruel, as the Barbics ate mostly greens, and berries, and meat. But when he sniffed the contents of the bowl, he realized they were edible. The first taste did not impress him in the slightest, but at least it was better than nothing. He had not been fed the entire trip here. 

"Rest while you can, cub," said a voice outside the wagon. Notaku peered up to see the blurry form of the leader standing there, looking almost philosophical as he gazed towards the place where the sun would set. "Because come nightfall...I intend to get some answers." 


	6. 6

Chapter 6

Night was not all that far off. Notaku watched, angrily, as the humans took all of his belongings out of his pack and examined them. For the time being, they took out the two things that seemed like they would help in their quest to find the gem, and shoved the rest back in his bag. "Put the bag on the cart," said the leader. "We can take it back when we return to our home. For now, all I care about is the gem." 

The man who had it, the one called Taylor, nodded and threw the pack onto the cart above Notaku's head. The cub scowled at him as he left, but the man ignored him. "How's we gonna get 'im to talk?" the man asked. "He aren't such a c'woprative sort." 

"He'll tell us or I'll beat his brains out," Brooker growled. 

Obviously, this was less than encouraging to Notaku's ears. He sat against the giant wheel of the supply cart, looking sullen. His shoulder throbbed fiercely, and he was sore, and tired. And he was feeling utterly uncooperative. 

As twilight fell, the men built up a fire, and ate dinner, a dinner that smelled very good to Notaku. Brooker did not eat, only looked over the human's journal, and the parchment the boy had found. Finally he walked over to the small form chained by the cart, and thrust the parchment in his face. "What's this say, boy?" 

Notaku looked at the paper, and for now, decided that a bluff would be best in this case. "Dunno yet," he said with a smirk. "I can't read that language." 

"What language is it?" 

The boy shrugged. "I don't know." 

Brooker narrowed his eyes and took hold of the chair around Notaku's ankle, and dragged him out into the firelight. "What of this journal you found? I suppose you can't read it, either?" 

"No, I can read it," said Notaku defensively. "But it doesn't say where the gem is." 

"Then why did you take it?" 

"Because it tells where the gem's supposed to go, so I can give it back." 

The man snorted, as if he thought Notaku was lying. "Right. You risk your life for a gem just to be polite and give it back. You must think us quite dull in the head, wretch." 

Notaku stood up to face the man, though it hardly did any good. He still had to look way up. "I don't care about power. Only humans care more about power than life. _You're_ the wretch!" 

Brooker curled his lip and smacked the cub across the face, with no warning. Surprised, Notaku sprawled backwards and tumbled as far as the chain would allow. Dazed, he sat up shaking his head. "You're not exactly in a position to call names," he said. "You see...I happen to know something of your filthy kind." Notaku felt the fur on his back bristle as he clenched his fists angrily "And though I can't read it, I recognize your language when I see it." He grasped the young bear's arm and shook him. "Now tell me what this says!" 

Gritting his teeth, Notaku scowled, put on his most obstinate look, and said nothing. Disgusted, the human shoved him to the ground and went back to the fire, grabbing what looked like a metal bar from the fire. The end glowed red-hot. Brooker grabbed Notaku by the arm once more and put the glowing metal very close to his face. "I have no qualms about torturing someone to get what I want," he said quietly. "Ashdown, Taylor. Get over here and hold the little demonspawn." 

Looking only too glad to assist, the two humans came over and grabbed for Notaku's arms. He fought them, kicking and biting, but he wasn't exactly in top form. They got hold of him and held him still, and with his arms pinned and Ashdown's knee in his back (both men were kneeling), Notaku found himself quite helpless. 

Brooker looked at Notaku's shoulder with a look of counterfeit concern on his face. He gently took hold of the bandages and eased them off of the wound, which looked quite ugly. "This must be bothering you," he said in a quiet voice, which at first puzzled Notaku. "Let me do something about it." And with an unpleasant smile, he pressed the end of the hot metal against the wound Notaku had taken from Fletcher's arrow. 

Notaku screamed, and began fighting again with all his strength, but Brooker did not let up for several moments. When he did, jerking the hot metal from Notaku's skin, he looked satisfied. "There," he said. "Much better." 

Panting for breath, shaking, Notaku tried desperately to get some form of control over himself. It wasn't that bad, he kept telling himself. He didn't believe a word of it, but in the time it took to repeat this several times, he did calm. He opened his eyes and growled at the blur that was putting the iron back in the fire. He called the man a name in Barbic that he had never used before. 

To Notaku's great annoyance, Brooker laughed uproariously. "Now that one I've heard before," he said as he replaced the iron into the fire. "And I've an idea of what it means. I think your mouth needs washing out." 

Behind him, Taylor laughed, and gave him a little shake. "Enjoyin' yerself, then? Ye must be, to still defy us." 

"I don't know where your stupid gem is!" Notaku yelled. "But I hope you find it! It killed a human already!" 

"Yes," came the answer. "We knowed that one, an' he were a weak-minded fool. That gem needs strength o' mind the deal with it!" 

Notaku tried a smirk, but it looked more like a snarl. "Then you guys're in trouble." There was a hiss of rage from behind him, and the grip on his arm tightened, but Taylor exacted no retaliation for his insult. At least not yet. 

Brooker came back then, holding an earthenware pitcher full of what Notaku at first thought was steaming water. "Hold its head,' he said to the men pinning Notaku down. With some difficulty, they managed this, and the spout of the pitcher was forced into Notaku's mouth. He tried twisting his head, but it was held firm, and the contents of the pitcher forced down his throat. 

He yelled, and then choked, as the liquid was poured in, and had little choice but to swallow it, or choke on it. It was hot enough to scald his throat, and tasted like soap, which was what had been put into it. When it was gone, either into Notaku's mouth or onto the ground, Brooker stood. "Still have the desire to curse at me?" 

Notaku fought very hard not to sob aloud, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth. He did not answer the human, but Brooker well knew that he had won that particular round. He knelt and took Notaku's chin in his hands. "Well? Any ideas on what that paper says?" When the youth remained silent, Brooker nodded to the men behind him. Looking sadistic, Taylor wrenched Notaku's arm savagely behind his back. Notaku groaned. Brooker repeated the question, but Notaku refused to speak. He couldn't. If he told these worthless cowards anything that could help them obtain the gem, everyone in the Valley would die. 

It was very difficult to refuse. He was scared, and he was hurt. What if they didn't _stop_ hurting him? For that matter, what if they killed him? He didn't even know where the directions on the parchment led him, maybe the humans would not figure it out either? But then...what if they did? 

But then the thought occurred: he did not have to tell them what was on the paper. He could give them false direction. And maybe that would buy him enough time to try and get out of this situation. 

Mistaking his mental conflict for further refusal, Brooker nodded once more to Taylor, who twisted Notaku's injured arm yet further, making the cub yell. This made the decision in his mind; he would have to bluff, and pray for the best. "Okay, okay!" he cried, trying to contort himself to lessen the pressure on his arm. "All right, j-just...just let go!" 

Smiling the smallest bit, Brooker nodded once more, and the hands pinning Notaku down released him. Shaking, Notaku stumbled a bit, holding his arm gingerly to his chest. His other fist clenched angrily, and thought once more that humans were worse than any stories he had heard of them. 

"Well?" said Brooker, towering threateningly over the boy. 

With some resolve, Notaku did not back away. "Let-let me see the parchment," he rasped. Even talking was going to hurt him for a while...blast them! Brooker silently went over to the wagon and handed the parchment down to him. Holding it in shaking hands, he held it very close to his face and squinted his eyes up. 

"Didn't you have on a pair of spectacles, boy?" Brooker asked. 

Notaku did not answer, except to point at Taylor, who had been the one to smash them. The human shrugged. "I didn't think he'd be needin' 'em." 

Brooker made a sound of what sounded like exasperation, and looked back down at Notaku. Notaku bit his lip briefly and "recited" awkwardly what was on the parchment. It was even close to the actual contents. 

> _To he bold enough to find this record, keep this in thine heart. If thou hath the courage and the hearte to continue thy journey, then seek us where the sun beats down. A week east, and then four days south, and, and with the courage in thine heart, thy quest shall be complete._

When he was done, he looked sullenly up at Brooker, who was looking thoughtful. "Sounds old...but that parchment's not." 

Notaku shook his head. "I dunno what it means," he croaked. "I d-didn't get that far." 

"Where was this?" 

"Same place as the journal..." Notaku made a few calculations, and a quick decision. He could tell them of the caves, and perhaps if they found what he had, and saw that at least part had been truth, they would be more inclined to believe him. "There's underground caves. There's a way in on the s-south end." He describe the area and the entrance, and mentally crossed his fingers. He prayed to Gum that it would work. 

Brooker nodded musingly, then slowly knelt and grabbed the scruff of Notaku's neck. He drew him very close. "If I find that you've lied, wretch, you will be very sorry indeed." He smiled, revealing yellow teeth. "I earn my gold by torturing prisoners. Keep that in mind." 

Unnerved, Notaku did back off a few steps then, when he was released. He watched the leader of the humans stand once more, and go back to the fire. Only now did he take some of the food they had cooked. Taylor and Ashdown also rose and joined their leader by the fire. "Tomorrow, I'll take two men down to these supposed caverns," said Brooker. "Taylor and Fletcher. The rest will stay here and make camp. If the wretch doesn't cause any trouble, you can go ahead and feed him once a day, give him water fairly regularly. If not, he can go without." 

As it seemed he would be left alone, indeed ignored, for the time being; Notaku limped back over to the wagon and carefully sat down. Gritting his teeth, he squinted down at his arm, trying to determine how badly it was hurt. He didn't think it was broken, but it was swollen and very, very sore. He winced and held it to his chest again, trying to keep it still. 

Before the humans went to bed, Brooker brought a glass of cool water to Notaku, and set it on the ground. As much as he hated the man, he was still grateful for the drink; it soothed his burned throat, and took the edge off his thirst. His stomach gurgling uncomfortably from the soap he'd been forced to swallow, Notaku curled up and tried to sleep. 

The next morning, Notaku was left strictly alone, and he woke fairly late in the morning. Brooker and the other two were gone, leaving three humans behind to guard him and the cart. Ashdown, and two whose names Notaku did not know. 

The boy sat up underneath the cart, looking down at his arm. It was swollen and sore, but not as had as it had been the night before. The cauterized arrow wound on his shoulder throbbed, glaring an angry red amid the tan fur, but it didn't look infected, or at least he didn't think it did. He never did well in lessons having to do with the healing arts. It hurt, though, and he didn't need to be a healer to know that. 

He did discovered that the pitcher that had held hot soap and water the night before now sat next to the wheel of the cart, and it was full of clean, cold water. A metal cup sat nearby. Moving gingerly, Notaku poured some water into the cup and drank it while he ran over the whole situation in his mind. 

It would take a week, give or take a couple of days, for the party to reach the caverns, and then eleven days to reach the false location that Notaku had given. That was seventeen days total, and then seventeen on the trip back... Notaku's face paled badly at this thought. He did a quick addition problem in his head, and realized that the wild goose chase he had given the humans might well have sabotaged his own mission. If he could not get away before the group returned, he would have next to no time to complete his own part of his quest! 

The boy was startled when a wooden plate was set down nearby, with several scraps of bitter greens, and a few overcooked meat scraps. He wrinkled his nose at the pitiful fare, but ate it anyway, as this was all that he was going to get. And he was already showing the signs of malnutrition. 

The days passed. Mostly ignored by the humans, Notaku tried everything that he could think of to get his foot out of the shackles. He tried forcing his foot out, he tried picking the lock (and without his glasses, this proved to be difficult). One morning when he got a plateful of scraps that was more fat than meat, he tried using the grease from the fat to allow his foot to slip out. Unfortunately, the cuff was too tight. 

As time went on, the youth's panic increased, until he had to fight it down to be able to think straight. Every day that he remained a prisoner here, that was one day less he had to get the gem! He had been keeping track by scraping lines in the hard-packed dirt, and though it was useful for keeping track of the days, it only reminded him that time was running out. 

He was going crazy, manacled to the cart night and day, being completely ignored by the humans. That was when they weren't mocking him. It didn't happen often, but enough to anger the cub considerably. The only thing the boy could be glad of was that the chain that tethered him to the cart gave him a few feet of leeway to pace. And pace he did, quite often. He was not a boy who enjoyed doing nothing, and the forced inactivity was infuriating. He had nothing to read, nothing to write on, no one to talk to, and the worst of it...he had something he had to do and was being prevented from doing so! And he was filthy, what with blood and dirt... And he'd been given no way of cleaning himself when he defecated, either, so he had had to rip parts off his kilt to use, then bury. Before he had used soft bits of parchment. At least it was earth, and not stone, so that he could dig himself a potty. Doing so at first, one-armed, had not been easy, but at least it was possible. 

What he wouldn't give for some Gummiberry juice! 

Every night when the humans slept, Notaku did everything that he could think of to get loose. And all the while, time crept relentlessly by. 

At afternoon of the tenth day, Notaku woke to a very large foot sinking into his side. Yelling in surprised pain, he scrambled up to his hands and knees, bumped his head on the bottom of the cart when he tried to stand up, and sat back in the dirt feeling bewildered. A second later, he was being hauled out from under the cart and slammed into the wooden sides, at eye level with the human who was doing it. Brooker! Notaku blinked on bafflement, wondering why he was here. Had he not followed the directions? Had he somehow realized beforehand that Notaku hadn't told the truth? But then his gaze settled on the giant horses, and understood; they had taken their horses there! That would have cut the travel time by at least half! Though while this was good news for the quest, it was bad news for him, because now Brooker was very angry. 

"I told you what would happen if you lied to me, wretch!" he growled, spittle flying from his lips. Notaku recoiled in disgust. The human slammed him hard against the cart. "Do you know what we found at the end of your instructions? Absolutely nothing!" 

"B-but -" Notaku stammered, but Brooker did not give him the chance to say anything before he slammed him again, making the youth cough violently. 

"Thought yourself clever, did you? I'll show you how claver I think you are!" He threw the boy to the ground and kicked him in the side once more, and Notaku scrambled back against the cart, his expression one of deepest alarm. The human drew a knife from a scabbard in his boot and held the point against Notaku's throat. Notaku froze, not wanting to move, lest the knife slip. There little that was as intimidating as the edge of a sharp dagger being held against one's throat, where the slightest twitch from the hand holding it could kill you within minutes. "I ought to slit your throat." 

"Brooker," called Taylor from the cart. "Why don't you just use this on him, see if his tongue won't loosen with a couple-dozen lashes!" He held in his hand a wicked looking horsewhip, and he whirled it over his head, letting it crack loudly into the morning air. Despite himself, Notaku flinched at the sound; the whip looked to him at the time like it was as thick as his arm. It wasn't, of course, but it _was_ a nasty looking weapon. 

"No," said Brooker disgustedly, removing the knife's blade from Notaku's throat and standing up. "As tempted as I am... That whip'd kill him, he's too small to use it on him." 

"I think I has some smaller lashes in the cart," said Taylor. "They wouldn't cause him too much damage." 

Brooker looked as if he were considering this. He looked down at the boy for several long moments. "I just may," he said quietly. His rage seemed to have passed. "It's be no less than the lying little wretch deserves, after what he pulled." 

Taylor began to rummage in the back of the cart, presumably looking for the whip he had just described. He brought it out a moment later, looking pleased with himself. It was, indeed, a lot less wicked looking than the long, thick horsewhip, but it still was not too welcome a sight. It was a thinner braided lash set onto a long, wooden handle. He looked to the leader, who looked at Notaku, and finally nodded. 

Notaku's eyes widened, and he moved as if to duck into the cover of the supply cart, but Brooker yanked hard on the chain and pulled him out several feet. Taylor raised the lash and brought it down hard on Notaku's side. 

The boy howled at the sudden searing pain, and scrambled to his feet as Taylor drew back for another strike. But Notaku was not about to let another strike fall. Howling once more, this time in anger, the youth darted forward and tackled the thin human around the knees. Taken by surprise by the unexpected attack, Taylor toppled backwards, the whip falling from his hands. 

Notaku leapt on the man, punching any part of him he could reach, and fighting his attempts to pin him down. Lapsing into the Barbic dialect that was his native tongue, he roared his anger out at the sadistic wretch. Though young-sounding, there was still a ferocity about the boy's angry cries that made Brooker hesitate, before darting in to help. It was not so difficult to subdue the angry Barbic cub as it had been on their first encounter, but it was still a job. Notaku was angry, and his anger fueled his strength. 

Panting, Taylor stood up, as Brooker pinned Notaku to the ground. "By the gods, that demonspawn...I should...he..." He sputtered, not able to express his fury. Notaku peered at him malevolently from under Brooker's weight. 

"You shouldn't have let him get the drop on you. Pick up the blasted whip, Taylor." As he did so, Brooker got up on one knee, using the other to pin one of Notaku's arms to the ground. One hand clamped around the back of his neck, pressing the youth's face into the dirt. The human nodded, and Taylor picked up the whip once more. 

Notaku could not get away from it this time, and yelled as the lash was laid on his back with a vengeance. He fought, of course, thrashed against the human the held him, but he was just about at the end of his strength, and soon could only cry out at the assault. At one point, Brooker held up a hand to Taylor, and the beating stopped for the time being. "Care to tell us the truth?" asked Brooker, his voice remarkably calm considering what was going on. 

"I- told you!" Notaku gasped. "I foun -" But he did not get the chance to finish his sentence, for the lash sang once more. "Aghh! No, I told - told the truth!" he cried frantically through the flurry of lashes. "It was in - the caves, I though, aahh - it was in with the journal, I thought it was - it was the only starting point I had!" 

Again, Taylor ceased at a hand gesture from Brooker, and this time no one said anything for a few long moments. Panting, not able to keep from sobbing aloud, Notaku prayed that they would not continue. Finally, Brooker spoke. "Where exactly did you find the parchment?" 

It was a good sign that he was asking questions, and Notaku was grateful for it. "Th-the caverns," he said quickly. "The-the other human was there -" 

"I saw him," said Brooker. "Where was the parchment?" 

"It was - it was in a pouch on his...on his body," Notaku gasped. 

"And the journal you found. Where was it?" 

"I-in the chamber where the bed was..." He lay on the ground, eyes wide, teeth clenched, waiting to hear either Brooker's voice, or the whoosh of the lash. As it turned out, Taylor was the one who spoke. 

"Ye think he's tellin' the truth?" 

To Notaku's great relief, Brooker stood, letting go of his neck. "Truth to tell," he said quietly, "I wouldn't think a boy so young could keep up a lie under such duress. Which leaves us with a problem: we don't know where that addle-brained fool found this parchment. And he obviously can't tell us." 

Taylor gave Notaku one last sadistic grin, then moved away, to hold council with the other humans. Once again left alone, the boy crawled back under the wagon and half lay, half collapsed in the dirt, muffling his sobs in the fur of his arms. Nothing could have prepared him for the terror and pain of being beaten with a whip, and in that moment, he wished for nothing other than to be safe at home. 


	7. 7

Chapter 7

After several minutes, Notaku began to calm himself. His breathing slowed, and except for an occasional hitch in his chest, his sobbing abated. As the shock wore off, the boy was able to start putting the pain in perspective, which made it less intimidating. It still hurt a great deal, to be sure, but he could deal with it. For now. 

He peered out from beneath the wagon at the men, now gathered around the dead campfire, apparently discussing what to do. He squinted his eyes, trying to focus them, and thought that Brooker might have the journal in his hand. The rest of the men, who had watched the scene previous, now also sat around the fire site. 

Notaku did not know what to do. He had not been able to break free from the chains, and even if he did, the information he needed was in the hands of the human. Feeling completely helpless, he lay on the ground and simply watched. The sun beat down from above, but the cart was actually fair shelter from it, and Notaku stayed well beneath it. 

For a long time, the men only talked of what their options were, and what they knew for sure about the gem. They had gotten the fire back up and cooked the evening's meal, and now spoke as they ate. "You think that fool got the gem before he was killed?" 

"He couldn't have. It wasn't on him, was it? That cub over there didn't have it." 

"He could have hidden it." 

"The cub?" 

"No, the fool whose bones are buried in the caverns. You think he hid it there in the caves?" 

Brooker's voice: "It is possible...though I'm not sure if I would want to go _back_ there again without a little more than a 'maybe'. Although at this point, it's our only option." He sighed, and stood. "I say we take a night's rest, and get back to it in the morning." 

The others also stood, stretching, or yawning. No one protested this plan, and soon the men were pulling out their bedrolls and blankets from the cart. Brooker, however, walked up to the cart and sat down, looking at Notaku was an appraising eye. Not wishing to be lying down so near the enemy, Notaku struggled to sip up, fighting tears at the pain the movement caused. His arm had healed fairly well, and the wound in his shoulder was only sore, but the recent beating had left quite enough damage. "Who are you?" Brooker finally asked. 

Not having expected this, Notaku blinked. And then he answered warily, "My name is Notaku." 

"Why do _you_ seek this gem? You claim you do not want its power, only to return it where it belongs." 

Notaku frowned, wondering why this man was asking this. He considered actually telling him the whole thing, but after a moment decided he really didn't want the human to know how important it was to him. "It is my Test of Bearhood," he said finally, and then translated, "My Rite of Passage." 

Brooker nodded. "I see. You're a Barbic." 

Once again taken by surprise, Notaku said nothing, only wondered just who this man was, and how he knew so much. Having never seen a human before now, Notaku assumed that humans knew little of Gummies in return. "Yes," he finally said, narrowing his eyes. 

Brooker nodded. "I thought so. You see, I've fought with your kind before. And after seeing the stubbornness of your spirit, and the violence of your nature... I know enough of Barbic Gummies to know what they're like." 

"Violence - what _we're_ like?" Notaku sputtered. You-after what you...look what _you_ did! Barbics don't go looking for trouble, or looking for riches and power, humans do!" 

Brooker's voice remained calm, but the look on his face was ugly. "You killed one of my men before we laid a hand on you," he said in a soft voice. "Browne over there may limp on the knee you broke for the rest of his life if the healers cannot fix it on our return home. You, a young child, were sent on a brutal mission that would very likely have killed you even if we never found you, simply to prove you're ready to be a man. Barbics are violent and savage." The man stood, looking down at Notaku with an expression the boy could not read. It might have been hate, but it might have been sadness, too. 

Without another word, Brooker left to retrieve his bedroll, leaving Notaku feeling shocked and upset at this view of his people. The weight of the death he had caused settled into his heart once more, and he bit his lip, wondering for a moment if the human didn't have a point. _Were_ Barbics savage and violent? He thought on this for several moments, his mind dwelling on everything the human had said. "No," he hissed. "We're not like that...we're not!" Humans killed for treasure, and tortured people for power. And sometimes just for fun! He thought of the look of sadistic enjoyment on Taylor's face as he brought out the whip, and how the archer had mocked him, lamenting that he hadn't been able to get another arrow in him. 

Very confused and upset, Notaku lay back down on the ground to try and get some rest. 

Sleep was not forthcoming for the youth, and it was a very fortunate thing, for glinting in the dying embers of the campfire was something lying on the ground beside the cart. It was right about where Brooker had sat before going to bed... Notaku could not determine what it was, but he knew it had not been there before. 

Creeping as quietly as he could, the boy made his way over to the object, and as he neared it, his blurred vision was able to make out a set of keys! His eyes widened and a surge of hope jolted his heart. He was suddenly shaking as he reached out a hand to grab the keys, his senses suddenly on hyperalert, ready to hide the keys if someone so much as twitched. But luck was with him that night, and no one so much as snored. 

Notaku felt around with the key until he had fit it into the hold on the manacle around his leg. He turned it both ways, but it did not budge. Biting his lip, he tried the next key, and the next, feeling it out in the dark. And on the fourth key, the sound of a soft click was music to his ears, as the manacle fell open. He gave a silent prayer to the powers that be, thanking them for this good fortune. 

And the next second, froze stock still, a chill cutting through the heat of the desert to make his hackles rise. Brooker had stirred, mumbling in his sleep. Thinking quickly, the boy set the keys where he had found them and crept back a bit under the wagon. He almost closed the manacle again then lay down, shamming sleep. For a moment, he thought these precautions had been in vain, but then he heard Brooker rise, hissing that he had lost his keys. He heard rapid footsteps approach the cart, heard the man kneel, and mutter, "There..." He sensed him looking to see if the boy was still there, felt a hand on his leg... He tensed here, thinking that if the man did more than just cursory check that he would discover that the manacle was loose, and that meant Notaku would have to fight. But the hand only brushed the metal of the manacle, then withdrew. Notaku let out the breath he had been holding when the human moved back to his bedroll, keys clutched in his hand. 

Notaku waited at least an hour before making his move. When the breathing of all the men was slow and even, Notaku slipped the manacle off of his foot. After so long being chained, his ankle was a bit swollen and red, but he could walk with hardly a limp. He stood on the other side of the cart, out of sight of the humans in case one were to wake, and took a moment to gather his wits and his nerve. If he failed in this, the quest would fall, and everyone he cared about would die. And Notaku? Notaku might die, but h might simply be kept prisoner, and he wasn't sure which was worse. 

He tested out his arm, which did not hurt at all except for a very mild ache. His shoulder had healed well enough, though it would leave a scar. The only thing that would be a problem were the vicious whip lashes he'd taken only hours before, that burned pain when he moved too much. They had scabbed over, but they still hurt a great deal. He wished he knew what plant the mages and healers used for their pain soothing potions! But since he did not, he would have to deal with it as best as he could. 

Notaku looked around the camp, squinting to make out the forms of the humans. There were six, lying around the dead campfire, their forms rising and falling with their breathing. He couldn't make them out, but he could tell they were all there. He mentally cursed Taylor for crushing his glasses. His bag... Notaku's bag was in the cart. He looked up at the cart, which was quite big enough to be a house for a small family of Gummi bears. But there were plenty of things that he would be able to climb on. He was thankful his arm didn't hurt anymore, else the task would have been impossible. It's just a Test of Bearhood, he told himself. Just another set of ropes to climb, though not as difficult. 

Silently the boy climbed up on the tailgate of the wooden cart, then scrambled up and over the side. He landed lightly, then froze, as the cart creaked with the extra weight. But when no one made a sound, Notaku continued his search. 

He spotted his sling and his bag of ammunition lying on the floor next to the food supplies. And next to those, he found his bag among the food supplies, and found that everything was still there. Everything but the man's journal, and Notaku's parchment. And those were in a pouch that sat next to Brooker's sleeping form. 

Notaku's face was pale as the moon that shone on the campsite as he realized how close he'd have to get to the humans. And if he were seen there, out in the open, there would be little chance of escape. Getting away before one of them woke would be difficult enough as it was. Standing on his toes, the boy tried to peer over the side of the cart, but it was too high. After a moment's thought, he stole an extra waterskin and some food rations, and stuffed those in his bag as well. Grumbling silently, he went to the rear to climb back out. 

Notaku put his bag under the cart, behind a wheel, and for a moment simply peered at the sleeping men. Water. He should get water, first. He crept to the stream and filled both waterskins, and set them with his bag, then crept back to the campsite. Taking a big breath, he headed for Brooker's sleeping form. 

Taylor snorted in his sleep, and Notaku froze, crouching down to the ground, his eyes wide with fear. But the man only turned over in his bedroll and began to snore loudly. That was all right with Notaku, it would help to mask any sound he made. 

He tried to keep an eye and ear on the men without staring at them, for he found that most Gummies knew when they were being watched. He didn't think that humans had the wit to do the same, but he wasn't taking any chances. 

Reaching Brooker's pouch, being as silent as he could manage, Notaku untied the rawhide that held it together and peered inside. Not able to make out anything that was in there, he began taking things out one by one and setting them on the ground. Finally, he found the items he needed, and scurried back to the cart. He hastily stuffed the journal and parchment in his bag, and after a moment stuffed the waterskins in there as well. He'd taken the whip not only on his back, but some on his sides as well, down to his tail end, and he didn't think tying a waterskin to his waist would feel good. 

Okay, he thought. That's it, you've got what you need, now get out of here before they wake up! He would have to be careful. If they had any clue as to where he had gone, they'd be able to easily catch up to him. On foot, versus on horseback...no contest. 

Notaku crept out from under the wagon, and had gone only a step or two before he stopped short and blinked. Horses... No, he thought. Those things are huge, even if you could get up there, what if they made a racket! But still...if he could get away with a horse, that would shave days off his journey! And his time was already half gone! 

Well, there was no harm in trying. If the humans woke while he attempted to take one of the beasts, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, because they would have caught him. Decided, Notaku crept towards the cart once more. The horses were tethered to the traces of the carriage next to barrels of water and some piles of hay, and looked quite bored, to Notaku's eyes. 

As he approached the animals, they seemed to show no objections to him being there, simply looking at him once, before looking away again. But even without his glasses, Notaku could see that they were not well-cared for animals. They were a little thin, for one, and there were scars on them that indicated that they too had felt the whip on their hides. Notaku felt a surge of anger at the humans...bad enough that they hurt each other, and hurt children, but defenseless animals! 

He spent a moment talking to them, in the quietest of tones, knowing that if they were anything like the unicorns, that they would be able to hear. He decided that he would let them all loose, but the one he would use. And even then, once his quest was finished, he would give that one his freedom as well. No horse deserved this. And letting them go would ensure that the humans had no way of chasing him down. At least not easily. 

He did not think that he could get a saddle on the horses; even if he could lift them, he would never be able to reach. But surely he could ride on one's back? He had once ridden a unicorn that way, after all. One by one, he released the heavy rope that tethered the horse to the metal traces, and gave the horse a heavy pat on the hind leg. They seemed to get the idea, and most began meandering towards the desert. 

Barbics were generally well known for their connections to nature, and their love of creatures big and small. And Notaku was no exception. He had untethered the last horse, but the gentle creature seemed to know what Notaku was intending, for he did not follow the others into the desert. He only stood there, watching him with mild interest. "Hello," said the boy quietly. "Can I ride you? We can both get away from the humans..." 

As if understanding what the boy was asking, the horse bents its head and nuzzled him, knocking him to the ground. Notaku very nearly cried out as he landed on his back, and clenched his teeth as tightly as he could for a moment before standing up. Shakily, he patted the horse's leg. "G-good..." he said. But gods, had that hurt! 

The boy looked up at the horse, wondering exactly how he was going to get up onto the horse, but the creature solved that problem for him by bending its front knees and kneeling down. The boy still had to climb up onto the cart to get on his back, but it was a lot easier. Once there, clutching his bag, he smiled. "Okay," he whispered. "Let's go...but quiet." He gave the horse a little nudge, and it stood, drank a long drink of water, and began walking unconcernedly off. 

At first Notaku was not sure how to tell the horse which way to go, but after a bit of experimentation found that tugging gently on its mane did the trick. A tug to the left , and he switched directions. Pleased, Notaku got going in the direction he was fairly sure he had been heading in the first place. He had been a week into the journey, and sidetracked two days in the wrong direction. Hopefully, with the horse, he would be able to get there within a few days. 

Notaku did not risk a gallop until they were a half hour outside the humans' camp, and then he urged the horse to go a bit faster. A bit faster, and then faster yet. He wasn't sure how fast a horse could run without endangering it, so he erred on the side of caution. 

As it was, not even at a full gallop, the boy was having a great difficulty staying on the horse's back. He was very small, and there was a lot of room to sit, but it was still a bumpy ride. His bag in front of him and his hands tightly clutching the mane, Notaku held on for dear life. 

The horse seemed to be enjoying running, without the burden of man or cart, or even trappings. For a while he simply ran, his hooves making dull clopping sounds on the dirt. But eventually it did slow down to a fast walk, which was just fine as well. It was a great deal faster than Notaku could walk, and it was certainly easier to hold on. 

He did not stop until well into morning, when he tugged on the horse's mane to stop him, and looked way down at the ground. He blinked for a moment, but then the horse knelt once more, and Notaku was able to jump down. The whip lashes on his body hurt when he landed, but not nearly as much as they had the night before. He looked at them, wincing, and was a bit puzzled when he felt himself start to shake. Now, away from the people that had hurt him, he seemed to be reacting to the fear more than he had before. At first he tried not to cry, but as he looked around and saw no one but the horse, he put his face into his arms and let himself cry. He cried hard enough to hurt the lashes on his back, but didn't stop, in fact could _not_ stop. If he did, he felt the fear might just eat through his body, and that wouldn't be a fantastic thing to happen. 

After several minutes, Notaku began to quiet, finding that he felt a good deal calmer, and even happier after he vented. He wiped his eyes and looked up, slightly startled to see the horse's face very close to his own, his head cocked as if to wonder what was wrong. Notaku smiled, and reached up to pet his nose. "Big Brother," said Notaku quietly. "I will call you Big Brother." Big Brother seemed to like this name all right, as he made a little nickering sound, and Notaku could have sworn he grinned. 

They were able to follow the little stream the humans have camped by for nearly three days, and by then, Notaku could see what they approaching. His heart felt like it had sunk into his stomach when he realized what that mass of shimmering green had meant. He could think of only once place within weeks of the Valley that was filled with trees, and that was the forbidden Jungle. The place where many grown warriors had ventured, and none had come out alive. 

Dawn was approaching, and Big Brother looked up at Notaku as if to ask, "Well? Are we going or not?" 

Notaku bit his lip, then glanced at the rising sun. It was soon be daybreak, and he was very tired. He could make his decision when he awoke the next night. "No...no, let's stop for now, okay? Besides, we should rest and drink water while we're here. We've got more than a day to go until we get there, and the stream turns south...and we've gotta keep going west." 

Notaku was not sure if Big Brother understood what he said, but he knelt down so Notaku could get down, so he suspected that he did understand. The boy smiled and patted the horse's side, before Big Brother stood up again, and went over to get a nice, long drink of water. They had traveled almost the whole night without stopping. 

At first, Notaku had worried about finding things that Big Brother could eat, but like the jackrabbits, he seemed fine dining on the scruffy grass that grew in patches all over the desert. Notaku knew little about unicorns, and even less about horses, but this one seemed quite adept at caring for himself. He watched the horse amble over to a patch of grass and make a meal of it. Grinning a bit, Notaku took out some of the bread and dried meat he had taken from the humans. 

He wondered how long it had taken before they realized what Notaku had done. He wondered if they would be able to track him. He had traveled almost continuously, hoping that they could get far enough away for the humans to lose the trail. During their journey, he had eaten and drunk fairly well, though he was still being cautious as to how much food he took in. The whip lashes began to heal, and didn't hurt so horribly after a couple of days. He still woke up sometimes, shivering, having dreamt about the ordeal, but he found that the farther he got from the humans, the more he could deal with what they'd done to him. 

Riding a horse was strangely tiring. Although not as tiring as walking constantly, it was still a drain on the boy's energy, and he wasn't sure why. He was just sitting, and holding onto a mane, what was so tiring about it? Still, he thought as he yawned widely. I suppose that balancing, and sitting still, and keeping a grip makes a person tired. 

Once Notaku had finished his bread, and taken a long drink from the tiny stream, he curled up carefully on his side to sleep. 

The journey for the next day or so was very quiet. And then, not two hours from their destination, Notaku stopped to sleep. He had hoped to make the Jungle areas before he bedded down for the night, but he was too exhausted, and the sun had already cleared the horizon. For now, he would sleep, and face the unknown when he was more alert. 

He was wakened sometime in the afternoon, from what he could tell, by the less-than-gentle nuzzling of Big Brother's snout. Notaku groaned, and opened his eyes, sitting up to get away from the almost frantic nudging. "Wha-what's..." he began to say, but before he could finish, he caught what sounded like hooves...and not too far off. 


	8. 8

Chapter 8

Suddenly, Notaku was completely awake. He scrambled to his feet and squinted into the distance, seeing only a cloud of dust heading right at them. Had the humans tracked them? Or was it a completely new danger? Notaku bit his lip and threw everything into his bag except his sling and its ammo. This he cinched around his waist, not minding the lashes on his right side. If the humans were coming for them, he wanted his weapon easily accessible. 

Seemingly relieved that Notaku was awake, Big Brother knelt down to let the cub onto his back, then stood and took off at a full gallop. Not having expected it, and never having ridden anything that went that fast, Notaku was nearly thrown from the horse's back. He yelled, and grabbed onto the mane, sprawled out on his front side across Big Brother's back. After a moment he righted himself and adjusted to the ride. 

He heard an angry yell far behind him, and recognized Brooker's voice, and growled. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy to get away! He supposed that they caught the horses, or at least some of them, that Notaku had set free, and were now mad as heck. 

He felt something rush by his face, and looked back in alarm. Through the dust, he saw the vague figure of a man sitting straight up on his horse, drawing his arm back...that miserable archer! Eyes widening, Notaku ducked down flat, letting the next shot whiz over his head. But Notaku was very small, and a moving target, this would be to his advantage. And this time, he could fight back! 

Grabbing a round stone from his pouch, Notaku fitted it in his sling, and whipped it into a lethal spin. Now...how to do this? He was not comfortable letting go of Big Brother's mane, and so he would have to twist his body around to let the stone fly. He did, releasing the stone almost over his shoulder at the pursuing humans. It was a lousy shot that actually almost hit Brooker, rather than Fletcher, but it was enough to make Brooker's horse shy, and nearly dump him on the ground. 

Big Brother made an angry neighing sound, and increased his speed. Another arrow whizzed by, close enough to rip at his hair and nearly throw _him_ off his horse. He growled and spent a moment catching his balance. Then he loaded another stone. 

This time he hit his mark. There was a yell, as Fletcher was knocked from his horse, sprawling in the sand, his horse galloping away from him. Notaku felt a grim sort of satisfaction at the archer's fall. As he looked back, he saw the blur of the man's body stagger to his feet, so at least he wasn't dead. If he kept his wits about him, he might even survive. 

Now all he had to worry about was Brooker. So far as Notaku could tell, it was only the two; the other horses must have found their freedom. And Brooker's horse was fast. Notaku's blood boiled as he saw the man using some kind of short, thick whip to force his horse to increase his speed, and he turned to snarl at the gaining foe. Brooker snarled back, looking almost feral, as he came nearly abreast with Notaku's horse. "I'll kill you for this!" Brooker promised, whipping yet more speed from his exhausted horse. 

For a moment, Notaku's temper was such that he wanted to leap from Big Brother's back and pummel every inch of the human that was visible, but instead, he grasped his horse's mane and tugged on it. Big Brother gave him a look that plainly asked if he was crazy, but Notaku tugged again, and Big Brother slowed down. That way he could take better aim with his sling, and Brooker's poor horse wouldn't be run so hard that he collapsed! 

Notaku heard a curse as Big Brother stopped, and Brooker overshot him by several yards. The boy stood on his horse's back, sling in hand, ready to whip off a shot at the human the moment he returned. Brooker savagely reined in his horse, turning it so that he faced the angry Barbic cub. At Brooker's pause, Notaku took the opportunity to hurl his stone. It missed, but not by much. Brooker spat a curse that Notaku had never even heard his father say before, and kicked his horse's sides to spur him forward. Notaku loaded his sling once more, and whipped the stone towards Brooker's head. He was aiming a bit high, in case he was off; he didn't want to harm the horse. This time the man fell, sprawling ingloriously in the dirt. "Go!" Notaku cried, sharply nudging Big Brother into a run. He grabbed his bag before it fell to the ground, then sat down and hung on tightly. 

Notaku looked backwards in time to see Brooker's blurry form getting weakly to its feet, reeling from the glancing blow Notaku's sling had dealt him. Notaku breathed a sigh of relief; Brooker would have to take time to recover if he wanted to get anywhere. And hopefully that would give him and Big Brother time enough to gain the cover of the foliage. 

Big Brother ran hard, until the pair reached the edge of the Jungle, and then slowed down considerably. Notaku tugged on his mane to stop him, and looked apprehensively in. It looked just like a jungle should look, all dense bushes and tall trees. It looked strange out here in the middle of such barren desert, but here it was, before Notaku's eyes. He could not catch sight of anything within except green, and he bit his lip. He remembered all the stories he had ever heard of the Jungle, from elvin folk that skinned people alive, to giant monsters that ate trespassers. No one knew how true those stories were, but they did know that anyone who went in never came back. 

But then, what choice did he have? The instructions on the paper directed him here. There was always the chance that the parchment he had found was not supposed to be in that cave, that the human had carried it there from another location, but Notaku did not think that was so. By instinct, he knew that he had found that paper right where he was supposed to find it, and that the directions were true. And so, he was meant to enter this Jungle. 

Taking a big breath, he whispered to Big Brother, "Let me down..." The horse knelt, and Notaku slid off. He gave a "come on" gesture to Big Brother, and the two slipped inside the trees. 

Notaku half expected to be struck down the moment he walked in, but of course that did not happen. He did notice an abnormal shift in climate though, that reminded him somewhat of the damp caverns he had explores days before. It was hot, and humid, and made breathing a little difficult for someone used to the arid desert. He took a moment to adapt somewhat, then continued on, hearing Big Brother's cautious footsteps behind him. 

The Jungle was a wonder to the young Barbic. The great, fat trees that grew in the Valley were nothing compared to the towering specimens that grew here. These trees, while thick enough to support such height, still seemed slim to Notaku, as they tapered up into the canopy of the jungle. Plants with leaves bigger than Notaku's entire body seemed to grow everywhere, and bright, vibrant colors of flower seemed to grow everywhere. For a little while, as he walked, he simply gazed in wonder at what he saw. 

He stopped a dusk in a little clearing, with the highly unwelcome feeling of being watched. Had Brooker been able to track them in this dense Jungle? He looked around nervously, but neither smelled nor heard sign of human pursuit. He sighed wearily, and opened his bag to get some dried fruits out to eat. He munched on these while looking around, trying to stop any spies. Highly frustrated when he saw nothing whatsoever, Notaku growled and put his head in his hands. This quest had been nothing so far but a farce! 

Feeling quite discouraged, he brought out a waterskin and took a conservative sip of it. As damp as it was in this place there was surely water somewhere near, but he wanted to make sure. When he finished, he realized that Big Brother was likely thirsty after their pell-mell rush into the Jungle, and dug out the other waterskin for him to use. He opened the top and held it up for the horse. Understanding, Big Brother came over, leaned his head down low, and took the spout in his mouth. As if he were feeding a newborn animal, Notaku tipped the skin forward, and let some of the water splash out into Big Brother's mouth. Not too much, though. If they didn't end up finding water, they would have to be careful with the rations. 

After resting for a half hour or so, recovering from the encounter, Notaku stood up and sighed. He did not want to continue, he just wanted to curl up and pretend that it all was a bad dream, but he could not. His Valley was depending on him, and there was something in his spirit that was getting highly indignant at the idea of giving up. He supposed that was either his courage or his honor speaking. 

"Well, come on," he said to Big Brother. "Guess we should get as far as we can..." 

The two picked their way through the brilliant foliage for several hours; the sun had set and the forest had grown quite dark. Notaku held up a lantern to see his way through the trees. He estimated that it was midnight or so when the feeling of being watched intensified, and he heard the slightest movement in the Jungle. He froze, his hand going for his sling, when the silvery, sharp point of an arrow appeared right in his face. A jolt of adrenaline went through his system, putting a chill down his back and sharpening his senses a bit. His peripheral caught sight of at least two others like it, all pointing at him. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," said a soft voice. 

Notaku blinked; the voice spoke his language! He frowned, slowly taking his hand from his sling, and holding the lantern up. The arrowheads seemed to glow in the lantern's light, thought their owners remained in darkness. "Lower your lamp," came the same voice. Notaku thought it might have been a female, but he wasn't sure. What he was sure of, was that it was not Brooker or any of his crew. 

"What if I don't?" the boy asked. His tone was more curious than challenging. His answer was the creak of a bowstring being pulled back, and the arrowhead retreating the slightest bit from his face. Whoever held the bow had drawn it back further. "Okay...guess that's my answer." Oddly, though he was tense and alert, he was not overly alarmed. He slowly set the lantern down a couple feet away from him, and was a little startled when the flame went out on its own. He felt no breeze, heard no water. One odd thing he did notice, though, was that the arrowheads were still glowing, and yet odder, they were all in perfect focus. 

"Lay your sling on the ground." 

Notaku bit his lip, but looking at the arrows surrounding him (there were about eight) he decided he had better do so. He had seen (and felt) quite enough arrows of late! 

Only when the sling was on the ground did the owner of the soft voice step from the shadows. There seemed to be a soft, natural glow about the creature, and Notaku frowned as he tried to figure out what it was. It looked vaguely human in shape and make, but he could not tell if it was male or female. This being was smaller than the humans Notaku had met, and had a soft face with high cheekbones. Clear blue eyes looked back at Notaku, and a wild shag of reddish hair topped a pale face. It wore clothing made from leaves, and covered very little on its body. The same almost misty glow that surrounded the arrowheads seemed to cling to the being as well. Notaku thought it might be male. Human children perhaps? Was this what they looked like in their youth? "Who are you?" he asked. 

"Silence," said the being. Its...his? voice was still soft, yet commanding. Were these elves, then? "We will ask the questions for now. What is your name?" 

Notaku scowled at being ordered around, but another glance at the surrounding arrowheads convinced him that cooperation seemed the best course of action. Uncertain, Big Brother stepped back a few yards. Trying to look at least somewhat courageous, he said, "I am Notaku Barbic." 

The being (also inexplicably in focus) looked the boy up and down. "Where are you from?" 

Notaku turned, pointing (and apparently alarming one of the archers, whose bowstring creaked ominously) toward where he thought the Valley was. "There, there's a Valley there that -" 

"We know of this Valley." Notaku hissed briefly in irritation at the being's interruption. Whoever and whatever this was...it was rude! "You are a child of the Barbics?" 

Notaku nodded. "Yes. I'm twelve." 

The being narrowed its eyes. "Then you are almost an adult." 

Notaku hesitated here; it seemed that whoever this was, it had something against adults. He took a big breath and said, "Well...yes. But I am not yet. I'm here on a quest." He glanced at the other archers, then back at the one that seemed to be in charge. "Can I get something out of my pack and show it to you? A parchment?" 

The being looked at him appraisingly for a few moments, and then nodded. "Very well. But do it slowly. And if you draw a weapon, these archers will fire." 

Notaku swallowed, but he nodded his head. Almost too aware of the silvery arrowheads, aware of how silent it was, and how grim the being's face looked, Notaku slowly knelt down. He took his pack from his bag and began rifling through it, until he felt the wrinkled parchment. He made sure to be very slow in drawing it out, so as not to spook the people who held weapons to his head. 

He stood with the parchment, the arrows staying in their bows, and Notaku unraveled the parchment. "I was sent on a quest," he said. "I started at some caverns two weeks back that way...I found this. And...well...this it what's in this direction." His breathing a little more rapid than normal from nervousness, he carefully handed the parchment over to the being. 

It took the paper, a suspicious look in its eyes, and read it over. He was quiet, and still, for a long time, which gave Notaku a chance to look him over. The more he looked, the less human this being seemed to be. It were only a little taller than Barbic adults, for one, and very slight. Its ears came to points, like a cat's, and as he looked more closely, he saw that its eyes had no pupils. It was kind of creepy looking, truth to tell. "This was written by our hand," it said quietly, then looked back at Notaku. "What is it that you seek?" 

"I'm, well, I'm on a quest to save my Valley. A blue gem was st -" 

Notaku was cut off by an angry hiss from behind one of the arrows, and he heard another soft voice utter, "Another thief, then...we should be rid of him." Another surge of adrenaline accompanied the trepidation that chilled Notaku's heart. 

"Yes," said another. "He has entered forbidden Jungle...and is obviously enough a man to seek power." 

The first being hissed at the others, obviously a signal to be quiet. "You will not shoot unless I give the word!" it commanded. The level of its voice never rose, but there was a force behind it that quieted the dissenters. It turned back to Notaku. "Continue." 

"U-um, well..." Shaken, Notaku had to think a moment before remembering what he had been saying, and explained briefly about the visions the mages had had, and that he sought the gem that had been stolen. 

"And the power of this gem will save your Valley?" 

"Well no, not quite. I guess...I think the gem was what kept the mountain from breaking the land apart, ands when it was stolen, the mountain got more and more..." He frowned, trying to think of the word he wanted, finally coming up with "...unstable. And it will crush our Valley by midsummer if I can't find the gem and get it back where it belongs." 

"And you know where it belongs?" 

"Well, kinda. I know it belongs in Derelict peak, and I found a journal of the human that stole it, and it shows just where he got it, and all." 

There was a tense sort of moment during which the being simply gazed at Notaku, as if trying to find evidence of a lie. There was none, of course. Finally, the being handed the parchment back, and made a hand signal in the air. To Notaku's relief, the arrows were lowered, and he let out a huge breath. Once the arrowed were lowered, the people behind them also stepped out to look better at him. And like the one who had spoken to Notaku first, they were in perfect focus. All of them seemed to hold the sort of ethereal glow that the first one did, and Notaku could not discern a gender among them. They all seemed to be of the same build; short and lithe. Their hair was wild, of many different colors. Notaku saw one who had electric blue hair, and another whose hair was sun-yellow. But the colors seemed softened, somehow, but the hazy glow that surrounded them. 

"Follow me," said the creature, heading farther into the woods. 

Notaku hesitated. "What about Big Brother?" he asked finally, looking back to his horse, who was nibbling at some grass underfoot. At his name, he looked up and cocked his head. 

"He will be fed and watered, and well taken care of until our business is done." 

Notaku was not sure, but he thought the being's voice had softened a bit on seeing Notaku's concern for the animal. He looked once more to Big Brother, who was now nuzzling one of the strange creatures. The creature smiled and rubbed its nose. Big Brother did not seem to deem them a threat, and so Notaku would trust his judgment. He nodded, and grabbed up his duffel. Keeping his eyes on the archers and their bows, he picked up his sling and his lantern. He noted some tense expression, but no one raised their weapon to him. Apparently when the leader decided a person was no threat, everyone treated that person as such. 

Notaku put his sling away in his bag, and closed it up, as a gesture of good faith. A couple of the beings nodded in approval at this, and Notaku gave them a tentative smile. Then he followed the first creature into the woods. Four of the others followed along behind. 

He did not have to light his lantern, it turned out, as the beings glowed enough that the way was sufficiently lit for walking. He stifled a giggle at the impish thought that they would make good flashlights. 

"Where are we going?" Notaku asked. 

"We are going to meet the Guardians of the forest," said the being. "They lead our kind and guard the rainforest from intruders." 

"Rainforest?" 

"Simply another name for 'jungle', which is what your kind calls this." 

"Oh." He was quiet a moment, and then asked, "How long will it take to get there?" 

"Three days." Notaku winced, biting his lip. "I must get this gem before midsummer..." 

"It is understood. We will not hinder your journey." 

"Oh. Well...okay." Notaku thought of how long he had been away, and realized that it had been almost a month. It sounded a good deal more alarming to think "almost a month" rather than "three and a half weeks". A month seemed like so much longer a time. Yawning, he stumbled a bit, grasping a vine for support. He was shocked when the vine wrapped itself around his wrist and helped him to his feet. 

Hearing that Notaku had stopped, the being turned around and smiled, looking a little amused. "Yes, this Jungle is alive, and sentient to a degree. It is a place of earth magic, and of life. The Jungle seems to have taken a liking to you." 

Notaku blinked, and then laughed, which felt very good to do after his recent ordeals. "Thanks," he said up to the vine, which seemed to twitch in acknowledgement. 

"We will travel until dawn, which I believe is the schedule you had set to avoid the worst heat of the day." 

"Well...yes." 

"That is wise." 

"What's your name?" Notaku asked. After all, they knew his. 

"I am called -" and here he spoke something that sounded a little like the babbling of a stream. 

Notaku blinked, and stared for a moment, catching the creature's amused smile. "Er...do you have a name I can say?" 

At this, it actually laughed, but it was not a mean laugh, and Notaku found himself grinning. "Call me Brookvoice." 

"Are you elves?" Notaku finally asked. 

At this, Brookvoice turned around, looking mildly annoyed. "We are fae. There is a difference." 

Notaku stopped, uncertain. "Sorry...I didn't know. Some tales of this place say there's elvin people here. So...I just asked, is all." 

Brookvoice finally nodded. "Your apology is accepted. Most fae get angry when they are compared to elvinkind. Elves are cruel and impish, and delight in making people miserable. We, while we do kill, do it only to protect our home and our people." 

"So there _are_ elves? Wow... I thought they were just myth. But I though fae were just myth, too." 

Brookvoice chuckled, but said nothing, and they trekked on. 

After four hours of this, Notaku hadn't the energy to make any kind of conversation, and when Brookvoice stopped to make camp, Notaku was highly relieved. He yawned, taking some rations from his pack for his supper. Smiling a bit, Brookvoice looked at his supper and then to Notaku. "A fan of stale bread, are you?" 

Notaku snorted. "Not quite. But it's all I have. I got caught by some humans, but I got away and took some of their supplies. The horse was theirs too, but they were treating them badly..." Notaku scowled and clenched a fist in midair. "Those..." he broke off, not able to find a word strong enough for what they were. 

"You care for and respect the creatures of the earth," said Brookvoice quietly. "That is admirable. He stood, and walked over to a tree, speaking quietly to it for a moment. After a few seconds, he reached up and picked a fruit as large as Notaku's head. He handed it to the cub, smiling. "Go ahead, it is edible to your kind, and quite healthy." 

"Thanks," said Notaku sleepily. After a moment, he sent a "thanks" the tree's way as well, then sniffed the fruit. He was not sure what it was, but it certainly smelled good. He looked at it, realizing that its size was going to make eating it quite messy. He shrugged, and took a big bite, and was delighted at how delicious it was. Especially after nearly a month of eating dried meat, and then gruel, and then stale bread and _more_ dried meat! The fruit was mildly sweet, and very juicy, refreshing. Not caring much what he looked like, he ate the entire thing, then lay back in the moss, a look of sheer contentment on his face. 

Brookvoice, chuckling with amusement, pointed a little way into the trees. "There is a stream there if you would like to wash and drink. And if you need to defecate, do it over there. The urine and feces will help the new growth." 

Brookvoice's tone was quite matter-of-fact, as if talking about defecation were an everyday topic. Stifling a youthful giggle, Notaku nodded, and disappeared into the trees. He did both of what was suggested, then came back and curled up on the moss, feeling full and content for the first time in a while. 


	9. 9

Chapter 9

The next few days were much like that. The fae did not eat, and Brookvoice explained that while they were able to eat and drink, they did not have to. "Most do, on occasion, simply to enjoy it." Apparently they did not need to sleep, either. 

Notaku had also finally asked is Brookvoice was male or female, and it was explained that fae had no gender. "We are born as infants from the earth, and given to be raised by they who are willing." 

"Oh! Wow. So there are fae cubs? Er...children?" 

Brookvoice smiled. "Yes. They are simply called children, or innocents. I am sure you will see some when we reach our lair. And so, we refer to ourselves by name when we can, and are quite comfortable with 'it' as a pronoun." 

"Oh." Notaku wondered what fae children looked like, and found himself eager to meet them. 

Later that day, it began to rain, startling Notaku considerably at first. Concerned for his paper belongings, he hugged his pack to his chest, looking up at the sky. He knew what rain was, but had only seen it perhaps three times in his life. "Here," said one of the fae. It took the leaf from around its waist (there was nothing underneath but smooth skin) and handed it to Notaku. "This will protect your parchments." 

Notaku smiled, and thanked the fae, wrapping his bag completely in the leaf. Once sure that he would not lose the record of his journey, Notaku was able to enjoy the warm, fierce rain, actually laughing and running through the puddles. And for just a little while, he was able to forget the grimness of his quest, and the darkness of what he had gone through so far. It rained through the night, but Notaku did not mind. He put his pack under a large plant and curled up in the rain. 

Halfway through the third day, Brookvoice pointed up into one of the trees, where after a moment, Notaku was able to make out a dwelling of leaves. A natural ladder of vines led into the dwelling, and fae face poked out to wave at Brookvoice. Brookvoice waved back. 

As they continued, more and more dwellings were apparent if Notaku really looked. And it was very strange, that while the forest itself remained blurry, the fae and anything they made or wore were in perfect focus. Notaku asked why this was so, explaining that normally, he wore glasses. 

At this, Brookvoice stopped and turned around to explain. "Mortals do not look at fae with their eyes. They do not hear fae with their ears, or smell fae with their noses." Notaku frowned and cocked his head, eager to hear more of this. "You, Notaku, what do you see when you look at me?" 

Taken aback by the question, the young bear looked Brookvoice up and down and described what he saw. Brookhaven smiled, and nodded his head. "It is as I suspected, then. You see us as we are. Those of pure heart see fae exactly as they are, with nothing changed. Those of evil heart, when they look at us, see horrid beasts whom they must crush beneath their heels, or kill with their swords and maces. And those are the ones whom we kill. Those of vain heart tend to see us as pretty, glittery things with iridescent wings and sparkly eyes." Notaku giggled at the thought of Brookhaven being all glittery. "There are many legends that describe fae folk as having wings, and that is why. Those we do not kill, but we do not permit them to enter, either. Tell me, the stories you hear of folk coming to this place, and never returning...who are they who never return?" 

Notaku thought about this, and realized that he was not quite sure. The stories were never very specific. All they said was that grown warriors had gone in and never come out, and he told Brookvoice this. 

Brookvoice nodded. "Grown warriors, yes. There are very few who can escape a fae's bow. But we never kill those of pure heart, only those with a heart to kill or conquer. And as for children, we never kill or harm children. In the rare instances where children become lost here, we will either help them get home safely, or they come to live among the fae until they are old enough to decide where they want to live. For sometimes a child's home is unsuitable for it." 

Notaku turned this over in his mind for several seconds, before he nodded his head. "That makes sense," he decided. After all, he had heard of people who even hurt their own children. No one brought up in the Barbic way would understand such a thing. 

The fae smiled, rested his hand briefly on Notaku's head, then continued to lead the way. 

Their destination was a big, open clearing that sort of reminded Notaku of the assembly area in the Valley. It was clear of logs and the like, except around the edges, which were lined with them. It was obviously a place of gathering. Brookvoice made a noise like wind, making Notaku blink, then simply stood quiet. Soon, a fae adult who looked no older than Brookvoice did, leapt lightly down from an overhead tree branch. Despite its youthful appearance, Notaku had the feeling it was very, very old. "This is Windsong," said Brookvoice. "Windsong is our chief Guardian." 

"Oh," said Notaku, nodding politely at the fae. "Hello, sir." 

The fae was a bit taller than Brookvoice, with wild, dark green hair that reached its waist. It was clad with a loincloth of leaves, and a slim dagger held onto its waist with a green vine. It looked very wild. Windsong favored Notaku with a slight smile, and spoke in a soft baritone. "There is no need for such formalities, though I appreciate your respect, young Notaku. Please call me Windsong." 

"Okay," he agreed. 

"There is someone that I would like you to meet, before we continue our conversation." 

"Er...okay." Caught a bit wrongfooted, Notaku waited to see whom he would meet. He had the nervous feeling that whoever it was would determine greatly how he was regarded from then on. But he was completely surprised when a tiny fae climbed down a nearby vine ladder to stand at Woodsong's side. Its eyes were a clear green, its hair the same dark green as Windsong's. It wore nothing at all. 

"This is Earthkin, my child. Earthkin is very young for a fae...were it Barbic, Earthkin would be five years old or so." 

Woodsong nodded to the beautiful child, smiling, and the child approached, and to Notaku its eyes held the very essence of innocence and wonder. "You're a mortal!" said the child eagerly. "But you're not human, are you? Are you an archer? Why've you got fur? Are you a beast? Are you a grown-up or a child? Do you like to play? Where are you from?" 

Notaku blinked, quite overwhelmed by the barrage of queries, and then laughed delightedly. "Um..." He glanced at Woodsong, who looked very pleased, then back down to Earthkin, trying to remember all of his questions. "Er...yes, I am mortal, but not human. I am a Gummi bear...Barbic. I'm not an archer, I use a sling...I'm not a beast, all Gummies have fur. I'm a child for now. I like to play, and I live in the Valley." 

The child started to ask something more, but Windsong chuckled and put a hand on the child's arm. "There will be time for talk later, little one. For now, he and I must talk." 

"May I stay?" 

"Certainly, but you must be quiet, unless you've something to add to what we are saying." 

Looking pleased, Earthkin sat on a log and watched, swinging his feet up and down. Notaku looked quite bewildered, and was glad when Windsong explained. "There are several tests that determined whether an outsider can be an ally to the fae. Most never get past the first...and that was how they act upon meeting the border guardians." A nod to Brookvoice, who stood nearby, watching interestedly. "Most who come here come with the intention of gaining power, or of conquering those who live there, and do not make it out alive. And even those who are not of evil heart are too selfish to be admitted. The second was your honesty. Fae can tell if a person is lying, and you did not." 

Notaku blinked, and scratched his head. "Wow, I wish Barbics could tell that!" 

Windsong chuckled. "I do not doubt that you do. It is a gift of magic that we receive from the earth. The third test was simply observing how you acted, and realizing the sincerity of your actions. You thanked the vine that helped up stay on your feet, and the tree that gave of its fruit. You fertilized the new growth when Brookvoice suggested it." Notaku's face grew red under the fur, making him look a bit tawny. He laughed, shaking his head. "Earthkin here was the final test. Fae children will refuse to approach anyone who is not pure of heart. Children always know, and fae children more than any." 

Notaku stood there for several moments, taking in all that had been told to him. It was strange, that this fae made such a big deal out of things that seemed like second nature to Notaku. Simple respect, and honesty. "I'm...I'm honored," he said. "But it wasn't really anything special, I mean...I was just being me. You know..." 

The smile that Windsong gave to Notaku reminded the boy very much of his parents, and felt at once both comforted and homesick. "But that _is_ special, Notaku." He smoothed the youth's hair back and continued talking, in a slightly brisker voice. "And so. Word has reached my heart that you seek a blue gem, taken from the volcano a week north of here." 

Notaku nodded. "I have to put it back, else the - it's a volcano?" Windsong nodded. A volcano! That could explain the danger! Notaku knew that not only did volcanoes spit molten fire into the air to course along the ground, but it also somehow affected the ground underneath...or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, Notaku better understood why it was such a threat. "I...I guess the gem's magic keeps the volcano calm. Without it, it will destroy my Valley and kill everyone." 

"How do you know this?" 

"Our mages got visions. They said that only someone under thirteen, and who acted the right way, would be able to do this quest. So this is my Rite of Passage." 

"It is true," said Windsong, "that an adult would very likely fail in his task. You see, oftentimes among faekind, and according to what we know, thirteen is the age when the earth allows a youth to understand the things that begin to take his innocence. Before then, his mind is innocent. If he acts otherwise, he is simply mimicking what he sees in adults, and can be taught the right ways. Afterwards, it is still possible to teach, but far more difficult. And so, only someone whose heart is pure, and whose spirit still retains its innocence can hold the gem without it destroying him." 

"That's what happened to that first human!" 

"Yes. It killed him quickly, simply advancing the corruption that was already there, and manifesting it into a physical malaise. It reduced his body to bones in a matter of days." 

Notaku gave the fae a searching look. "So...you guys have the gem?" 

"We do not have it; the earth has it. It has been put in a safe place, and we watch over it." 

"Oh. Well...hold on, how come you guys have kept it here, and not brought it back." 

"May I answer that?" piped up little Earthkin eagerly. 

Windsong smiled at the child. "Of course." 

Earthkin stood up from the log, nearly bouncing with energy. "One of us did go and get the gem from the caves." He mentioned a name that sounded like a rushing river, or waterfall. "He and his friend went and got the gem, and left the parchment. But the caverns aren't magic. The volcano is, though! It's got a lot of magic in it, that's why the gem's there to..." He looked at Windsong, a slightly bemused expression on his face. 

"Balance," the adult suggested. 

"Oh yes! Balance! The gem balances the other magic. See, the volcano has a lot of stone magic, and fire magic. And we're water magic and earth magic, and growing magic." He looked around at all of the jungle foliage. "And the magics are so different that we'd die if we tried to go there. So we had to keep the gem safe until a person who could get it to the volcano got here!" He paused, and then added, "Your Valley is magic too. Earth magic, and Air magic. We could go there because it's not so different, but we couldn't stay long." 

Notaku frowned, a little confused. "So...so because you use the magic of water, and fire's the opposite, they kind of...can't clash?" 

Earthkin shook his head, his mop of hair shaking back and forth. "No, we _are_ magic. See, mortals have spirits. Fae have magic instead! They do the same things, like telling you what's right and wrong, and letting you feel things, they're just made of different stuff." 

Blinking, Notaku tried to imagine what substance a spirit could possibly be made of, and asked the child if he knew. Earthkin shook his head. 

"Though we fae know many things, and can see many more, we do not know everything. I wish we did...that way my child here could not get into so much mischief!" Windsong looked down at the tiny fae who grinned big and gave an innocent look that wouldn't fool anyone. Notaku giggled. "But you are weary," said Windsong. "And you are injured. I have seen what the humans did to you, and I only hope that they try to enter here, for we shall make sure they hurt no others." 

Notaku winced, and looked down at his fur, which was filthy and bloodstained, and shivered a bit. He almost said "I hope that too," but then he remembered Gregor, whose body lay by a large boulder in the middle of the desert, and bit his lip. It was sometimes easy to say, that one wished a certain person would die, but when it came right down to it, death was not something to take so lightly. 

Windsong put a hand on Notaku's shoulder. "You have a few hours until dawn, my young friend. Brookvoice can clean you up, and tend your wounds. You can visit those who live here for a bit before you go to bed, and tomorrow, we will take you to where the gem resides." 

Notaku gave the fae a grateful smile. "Thanks. I mean...I dunno how to thank you for all this help." 

"There is no need. You have gone through many trials, and proven yourself quite well enough. We have helped very little; it is you who have fulfilled the requirements of your journey. Now go on. Use the rest of this night to rest, and enjoy yourself, without the burden of your responsibility weighing you down." 

The boy nodded, as the fae turned to leave. Little Earthkin stayed, though, eagerly taking Notaku's hand. He rather thought this implied a great deal of trust, allowing the child to stay in Notaku's company without the parent being there with him. He felt flattered. "Come! I will show you where the pools are! Brookvoice, you're going to come too, right?" 

"Of course," said Brookvoice's soft tone. "Someone needs to accompany you and keep you out of trouble." 

Earthkin made a snort as if to say "Pah!" and began to lead Notaku into the foliage. 

There was something very refreshing about being in the company of the fae. The purity of their magic and the energy of the Jungle were very powerful indeed, and Notaku could see why some people wanted to conquer it. How could they resist such power? 

Earthkin lead Notaku into a little grove, where Notaku was surprised to see many natural pools and fountains, as well as a little waterfall. The little fae kept pointing out the different areas of the water area such as swimming pools for romping and playing; bathing pools with a waterfall for cleaning and bathing, and other pools for simply relaxing. Steps of vines and soil lead up and down to the many different levels. There were a few young looking fae children laughing and roughhousing in one of the swimming areas, a couple of adults lounging in what seemed to be a hot spring, and one fae bathing under a waterfall. 

"You can take off your tunic and put it in the water, and it'll get clean," said Earthkin. Notaku agreeably took the wraparound from his waist and placed it in the waters of a shallow bathing pool. "I am going to go play in the swimming places, okay, Brookvoice?" 

Brookvoice nodded and ruffled the child's wild mane of hair. "You behave." 

"I shall! I promise!" With that, Earthkin darted off towards the wrestling youngsters. 

Brookvoice led Notaku over to an area near a wall of earth, in which there were many recesses. The fae reached into one and brought out what looked at first like cloth to Notaku, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a very soft, flexible bundle of leaves. Brookvoice handed this to Notaku. "These are for cleansing," he said. "They will clean your body, get the filth and the blood from your fur. That must be very uncomfortable." 

Notaku nodded, crouching down in the water. "Is there...is there no soap?" 

Brookvoice scowled, the expression actually frightening on its ageless face. "I sometimes forget the things that mortals make and use, that hurt the earth and her creatures." 

Notaku scowled at this rebuke, and then it was his turn to be offended. "Barbics do _not_ harm the earth or her creatures! If we hunt, we do it so that there's no unnecessary pain, and we thank the animal's spirit. Our soaps are made so they don't hurt the earth. Everything we do, we keep the earth in mind!" 

Brookvoice blinked, looking quite taken aback, and looked at the offended cub. And then he spoke. "My apologies. Fae sometimes forget that not all mortals are alike." 

Notaku finally nodded, accepting the apology, and on impulse, asked how old Brookvoice was. 

"Not very old," it admitted. "I have seen only ninety seven summers." Notaku's brow rose. "Fae age at different rates. But I age fairly slowly. Were I mortal, I would have seen perhaps seventeen summers." 

"Ohhh..." So not very old at all. That explained Brookvoice's quick (thankfully mild) temper. "Got it." 

"Anyway. Go ahead and bathe up. I will wash your back, places not easily reached, if you like." At Notaku's surprised look, he chuckled and said, "Among fae, modesty means very little, and there is no shame in helping another bathe or the like." 

And oddly enough, Notaku found that he really didn't feel embarrassed. He shrugged agreeably. "Thanks." 

"You're welcome." As Notaku used the soft leaves to bathe himself in the waters, Brookvoice took a second bundle and gently scrubbed Notaku's back. It hurt a little bit, but as the lashes were more than halfway healed, it was little more than a twinge. "So many humans are evil," Brookvoice whispered as he looked at Notaku's back. "So many are cruel. How one of Earth's creatures could have gone so badly astray. I can't understand it." 

"Me neither," said Notaku. 

"Well...hopefully the waters will help. They have restorative qualities." He explained that this meant it would help him heal. 

"When people bathe, where does the dirt go?" asked Notaku. 

Brookvoice smiled. "It doesn't go anywhere. The dirt is cleansed from the body, and the waters cleanse it into something that's not dirty. And it simply goes back into the earth. You see, fae do not deal with disease, or infection, or the like. This place does not allow such things." 

"That's why you can't die?" 

"Well, partially. We cannot die of sickness or old age. We can, unfortunately, die in combat. Though it is extremely difficult to kill a fae, it is possible. But yes, we are immortal in that we do not age once we hit a certain point in our development. What many mortals call the prime of life." 

"That must be nice," said Notaku quietly. 

"Mostly it is. We are very grateful for this gift." Notaku rather thought that Brookvoice sounded a bit wistful. "But it looks like you are nearly clean, Notaku. Perhaps a few moments under the water to cleanse your face and hair." 

"Good idea!" Notaku ducked under the water, and was astonished at how cool and refreshing it was on his face. He stayed under as long as he could hold his breath, shaking his hair around in the waters, and actually feeling the filth leaving it. When he surfaced and stood up, he felt one thousand percent better than he had before coming into the Jungle. 

He retrieved his kilt, which indeed was as clean as it had been new, and decided to toss his cloak in as well. A few moments' swishing got it clean and bright. "Thanks," he said to Brookvoice. 

"You're welcome. And now, feel free to wander. I daresay many of the innocents, and likely many adults will want to pester you with questions. We do not often get mortals in here, and the children and those not on border patrol rarely see them. Some of the younger ones have never seen a mortal before in their lives." 

Notaku giggled, simply because he felt good. "I don't mind!" 

"I am glad. Well, I've got to get back to my patrol. I am certain that we will meet again, Notaku." 

"I hope so." He watched the fae leave, finding he meant every word. He liked these people a great deal. 

Notaku spent the rest of the darkness hours meeting the various fae who lived in the Jungle, and Brookvoice had been right; many people asked him about mortal life. He did not mind telling them, especially the wide-eyed children who asked. He realized that he was as much a novelty to them, as they were to him. 

And once they tired of asking, Notaku spent a good deal of time simply playing among the leaves. 

Before bed, Notaku saw Big Brother, who had been fed and even groomed. He was resting among the trees of the little area Notaku was led to for sleeping. He grinned and hugged the giant horse's leg, which was all that he could reach. Big Brother snorted and nibbled on Notaku's hair. He giggled, stifling a yawn. 

Notaku was shown a soft patch of moss to sleep on, and he thought he had never found a more comfortable bed. It really must be wonderful to live here, he thought. 


	10. 10

Chapter 10

As the sun set, Notaku felt himself being shaken gently awake, and saw Brookvoice sitting there looking serious. Not grim, only serious. Rubbing his eyes, the cub sat up. "What's happening?" he asked sleepily. 

Brookvoice smiled a little bit. "Nothing. But today you will be taken to the gem you seek." 

"Oh." Suddenly very much awake, Notaku stood and rubbed his eyes once more, dashing the last of the sleep from them. "So...what will I have to do to get it?" he asked. 

"Well, you've proven your trust, now you must prove your skill and bravery. I'll let Windsong explain it to you. But having gone through what you went through, I highly doubt you will have a problem." 

Pleased at the vote of confidence, Notaku looked at his bag. "Will I need my weapon?" 

"Likely. Go ahead and bring your bag, and Windsong will let you know what you'll need." 

Notaku nodded. "Okay." He grabbed the duffel and followed Brookvoice through the fae realm. "I had a question. Once my honesty and stuff was tested...no one was wary of me, or disliked me...I was kind of surprised." 

"Well, fae societies are based largely on faith and trust. And the chief Guardian is that because he was well liked, well respected, and well trusted. And if he believes a thing to be true, it occurs to no one to disbelieve it. That, and the instincts of an innocent are never wrong. And little Earthkin likes you very much." 

Notaku smiled. "I like him too, he's cute." 

They said no more as they returned to the place where Windsong lived. He was waiting for Notaku when the cub arrived, and nodded cordially to him. "Good evening, child." 

"Hello," said Notaku, a bit nervously. He waved at Earthkin, who peered out from behind its guardian with a grin. 

"Well, I am going to bring you to the area you will be tested in," said Windsong. "This place of the earth is quite sacred, and will not allow just anyone to obtain that which it guards. You will be tested...and if you succeed, then gem is yours." 

Taking a big breath, Notaku nodded. "Will I need my weapon?" 

"That is for you to decide. I can tell you that you will not be delayed more than a day if you succeed." Notaku nodded, and decided he would eat and take a big drink before going. "When will we go?" he asked. 

"Whenever you're ready." 

"Okay. Okay, I'm going to eat then, first...keep my energy up. And take a big drink. Then...then I'll be ready." 

"That is fine." 

Notaku ended up asking one of the trees if he might have another fruit, as that had given him a lot of energy, and the tree complied. It was the strangest thing; the tree did not speak aloud, or even as a telepath might, but Notaku nonetheless felt the answer in his heart. Laughing delightedly, he hugged the tree in thanks, then climbed up and snagged one of the fruits. He sat in a crook of a branch and ate it, thoroughly enjoying the meal. And once he had taken his fill of water, he went back to Windsong, and told him he was ready. He carried his knife and sling. 

The fae looked a little bit apologetic. "I must blindfold you for the trip down there. Please realize that usually only fae go there, and we have only known you a day. In time when we've grown to know each other, you will be allowed to know where it is, but for now, I must keep its location secret." 

Notaku was a little surprised and disappointed, as he was fairly curious by nature. But he understood. He felt honored to be here at all. "Okay," he said, nodding his head. 

Windsong gave a bit of a knowing smile, and nodded. "Earthkin will accompany you, I am leaving the child in your charge." Notaku blinked, but nodded agreeably enough. "He will lead you there. I wish you luck, young Notaku." 

"Thanks." Notaku allowed Windsong to tie a large, folded leaf around his eyes, and secure it with a thin vine. He stood still then, and waited for the fae child to lead him, and felt a small, slim hand take his. At a little tug, he began to walk, hoping the fae cub would warn him if he was about to bump his head. 

As it turned out, Earthkin was quite determined to perform his responsibility as well as possible, and warned Notaku of everything that might cause him harm. Inclines or declines in the path, vines that could trip him, low-hanging branches, mud... Anything that could be an obstacle to him, he was warned about. And Earthkin did not go fast. 

After about a half hour of walking, Earthkin stopped, and let go of Notaku's hand. "You can take the leaf off now, from your eyes. Did I do well? Did I do it right? You didn't bump your head, did you?" 

"You did very well," answered Notaku, slipping the vine from around his eyes, and taking off the leaf. "I don't think it was possible to fall, or hit my head, you told me about everything. Thanks!" 

Beaming, Earthkin jumped up and down a couple of times, pleased at the praise. "Okay," he said, pointing down a dark corridor. "We gotta go down there." 

Notaku nodded. "Okay. Stay close to me, okay? I would feel very badly if you got hurt." 

Earthkin nodded, and stayed less than a foot from Notaku's side, and Notaku felt a sudden rush of fondness for the tiny fae. When he did something that was requested of him, he almost overdid it, and it was rather endearing. 

His sling ready, Notaku crept down the lightless path, peering into the darkness. He wished he had brought his lantern, as not even Earthkin's natural glow was enough to penetrate this darkness. But at least it allowed him to keep and eye on its whereabouts! 

At first, nothing really did happen. They walked down the path, listening to the sounds of the wood, Notaku trying to peer ahead into the darkness. Earthkin trod carelessly alongside the young Barbic, seemingly enjoying the hike. 

After a few moments, they came to what looked for all the world like a natural doorway, blocking the entire path with a face carved into the bark at Notaku's eye level. The jungle on either side was so dense that not even a Gummi infant could have fit through. The shocking thing was, it spoke. Notaku blinked as the face opened its mouth and demanded that Notaku state his purpose in the jungle. 

"I...am Notaku Barbic. I'm here for a blue gem, to return it to the mountain." 

"Is that so?" 

"It is." 

"Well then. You will have to answer three riddles to get past me. If you fail to answer any one correctly, you may not pass." 

Notaku took a big breath. Oh boy, he thought nervously. Riddles. He had never done well with that kind of thinking in school, and he had to quash a sudden attack of fear that he would be thwarted in his quest here, so close to the end. Clenching his fists and forcing himself to calm down, he gazed at the wooden face. "What is the first riddle?" 

With a dignified lilt of its head, the face replied: "I scream but ne'er can I be heard. I fly, but it I am a bird. The darkest cave is where I stay. I see the night as plain as day. What am I?" 

Notaku blinked, at what first seemed like gibberish to him. He stared at the door, dismayed, and looked down at Earthkin. It shrugged, sitting down on the cool moss. "How can something scream but not be heard?" Notaku asked in bewilderment. He dwelled on this for several minutes, before giving up and trying the next part of the riddle. It flew, but was not a bird. What the heck flew without being a bird? A bug? For a moment, he thought he might have gotten the answer, but then he realized that bugs did not scream without being heard. 

The boy sat down and started going through all of the life lessons he had sat through with the Teachers of the clan, thinking of every creature he had been taught. Caves...what lived in caves? And could see as plain as day in the night... The boy's eyes widened as he realized the only thing that could fit all of the clues. He stood up, his expression that of excitement. "A bat!" The wooden face smiled, and nodded, and Notaku laughed in relief. "Okay. The second?" 

The second ended up being a riddle that Notaku had heard before, and so knew the answer to. "What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks? Has a bed but never sleeps, has a head but never weeps?" 

"A river!" Pleased with himself, Notaku grinned. 

The face nodded, and gave his worst yet. "It is better than the gods and heaven, and worse than the demons of the underworld. If a mortal eats it, he will die an unpleasant death, but once he dies, he will eat it always." 

"What? It's better you say the whole thing again?" The face willingly obliged, and repeated the riddle, and Notaku sat back down on the ground in disbelief. That wasn't a riddle, it was a jumble of complete contradictions! "Nothing can be better than heaven, and worse than the demons in the underworld at the same time!" he protested. The face looked at him impassively. Standing up and beginning to pace, Notaku furiously went over it in his mind. 

What could a mortal eat that would kill him painfully? Poison came to mind, but while it might be worse than some demons, it certainly wasn't better than the gods! And what would a mortal eat once he died? Nothing! "Mortals don't eat!" 

A few more minutes worth of pacing gained Notaku nothing but a frustrated mood and a head that had begun to hurt. Earthkin watched the young bear pace the Jungle up and down as he thought. Finally, Notaku turned to the tree and exclaimed in frustration, "There can't be an answer! I can't think of anything that's better than the gods! And nothing that is worse than the demons!" The face stayed silent. "And mortals...eat nothing when they die, they're dead! People don't eat when they're..." Notaku trailed off, stopping short, as he realized what he had just said. He quickly whispered the riddle to himself, trying the answer that had come to him at each part, and laughed aloud when it all fit. "Nothing," he said wonderingly. "That is the answer: nothing!" For certainly if a mortal ate nothing, he would die of starvation...and after he died he would eat nothing as well! And nothing was better than the gods or the demons in their respective realms! 

Smiling on the young Barbic, the wooden face closed his eyes and sank into the bark-covered doorway. A second later, the doorway sank slowly into the earth, granting Notaku and his young companion passage! 

Proud of himself, Notaku laughed and grinned at Earthkin, who had jumped to his feet to follow him in. 

The next thing that Notaku encountered was a sheer cliff. He blinked, wondering if he had perhaps gone the wrong way, but a quick backtrack told him that this was where he was supposed to be. 

Frowning, Notaku came right up close to the cliff and peered at the dark barrier. After a moment, Notaku could feel that there were little recesses in the hard-packed earth that Notaku could use as handholds, and finally he shrugged. This should not be any more difficult than the first part of his Test of Bearhood had been. 

He stuck his fingers into one of the handholds, a foot into another, and thus began his climb. Earthkin, he had no worries about, as he had seen now naturally and easily the fae could climb, even on the sheerest of tree trunks. And sure enough, the child easily kept pace with Notaku's laborious climb. 

He managed it, though was quite tired when he got to the top. He decided to sit still for at least fifteen minutes and give his arms and legs a chance to rest before continuing. When he was ready, he stood and stretched his sore muscles, and gave Earthkin a small smile. "Well, you ready?" 

It nodded its head. "Yep!" 

Sighing, Notaku once more set foot on the pitch dark path. 

Again, there was nothing for a good long time, except the barely discernible footpath and the almost suffocating darkness. 

But then, as the pair turned a corner in the path, a horrible roar made them both of them recoil and cry out in startlement. Notaku raised his sling, quickly loading a stone into it, and stepping between the noise and Earthkin. He listened frantically for the sound of footsteps, or breathing, and heard none... 

Without even a rustle to warn him, Notaku was suddenly batted in the face by a huge paw, and tumbled several feet into the foliage. A fearful scream from Earthkin brought him to his feet, sprinting back towards where he'd been attacked, praying that he'd get there before the child was killed. He caught sight of a large beast shape in the gloom, lunging at Earthkin, and launched himself at Earthkin's small form. Notaku caught the fae around the shoulders and tackled him to the ground, catching the beast's claws across his back. He screamed, but shielded Earthkin as the beast took a second swipe. Clenching his teeth, fighting the tears that blurred his eyes further, he picked the little fae up and ran. He did not hear the beast follow, but that didn't necessarily mean anything; he hadn't heard it before, either. 

Earthkin was crying softly, huddling against Notaku's side, and Notaku kept the child very close to him. He shook with the sudden pain and the sudden terror, his eyes darting everywhere he could see. He had dropped his sling, and here in the darkness, had little chances of finding it again. 

The slightest growl made Notaku shove Earthkin behind him. He looked desperately into the woods, trying to catch the shadowed form, and remembered suddenly that he had his knife on him! He grabbed it up and held it in front of him, growling softly into the darkness. 

Suddenly, he caught movement! He leapt backwards, dragging Earthkin with him, barely avoiding being slashed by the claws. He lashed out with his dagger and was rewarded by the beast's roar of pain. Not that he was happy to have hurt something, but maybe the beast would think twice before attacking them. 

But as he dodged another furious swipe, he thought, 'perhaps not.' 

Notaku wasn't sure how long he could keep this up, fighting a beast he could not see. He wondered angrily if this was a part of the test, and if it was, then Windsong had put this innocent child in the path of danger, not to mention terrifying the poor thing! "Come on," he hissed, urging Earthkin along the path. If they could get far enough away, maybe they could escape the beast's notice. 

But it became painfully clear a moment later that this was not to be so. Notaku yelled as something enormous landed on him from behind, knocking him face first into the soil. Twisting fiercely around, he brought his arm up to shield his throat, which was normally what all beasts went for in their prey, and screamed again as a sharp set of teeth tore into the skin there. "'Kin, get back!" he snarled, tears soaking into the fur around his eyes. As the beast gave his arm a shake, nearly breaking it, Notaku was able to wrench his other arm out from under himself, the arm whose hand clutched the hunting knife. He slashed up at the beast's face, and it howled as a line of blood was opened across its muzzle. When the beast reared back, Notaku scrambled out from under its body, rolling out of the way as the enraged beast pounced once more. 

He would not have another shot at this, if he didn't move quickly, the beast would have him. Letting out the sort of Barbic war cry that had struck fear into the hearts of much larger foes, Notaku struck with the speed of a viper. He lashed out with the knife, plunging it into the beast's side. The beast yowled, jerking away from Notaku's knife and reeling away. But notaku did not retreat; could not retreat. If he did not finish the beast, it would attack again, or perhaps ambush them unawares. And even not, if it retreated, it was hurt badly enough that it would die slowly and painfully, and that wasn't right, either. Adrenaline surging through his bloodstream, Notaku leapt up and this time caught the beast in the side of the neck. Hot blood flooded down Notaku's hand as he slashed downward. 

The beast gave a weak growl and staggered, finally falling heavily to the ground. It tried once to get up, but collapsed back down to the ground, and lay still. 

Choking back a sob, Notaku looked frantically around for Earthkin, and found it crouching by a large stone, seemingly unhurt. He wept with fright, but had not been harmed. "A-are yo-ou okay?" Notaku managed to choke out. 

The child nodded, slinking over to Notaku to clutch at his fur. Notaku did his best to comfort the child, but nearly having lost control of his own fear, he was not that good at it. In a halting voice, he tried to gently persuade the child to sit down for a moment while Notaku looked over his injuries. Weeping softly, the child did so, sitting on the ground, its arms around itself. Shaking badly, Notaku looked down at his arm, which had been ripped open by the beast's claws. He took off his kilt and tightly wrapped the wounds, using a vine from a nearby tree to tie it on. He could not reach his back, where he'd been clawed, in fact could not even see how bad it was. But he prayed that it was not bad enough that it would endanger his life, as he had no way to tend it. 

For a long time, the boy stood in the middle of the path, fighting the sobs that tried to wrack his chest, choking back the whimper that threatened to escape. And eventually, he managed to exert some modicum of control over himself. He still wept, not able to stop, but his chest did not heave anymore with retrained sobs. He shook, but not so that he could not walk. 

"Come on," Notaku finally whispered to Earthkin, and the little fae stood, carefully clutching Notaku's fur. Notaku did not protest; if anything else happened, he wanted the child close. 

As it turned out, nothing else did happen, and it was not two minutes later when the pair came across a gigantic wall of entangled roots and twisted vines. In the very center of this, there was a circle of what looked like glass, with glow behind it, but when Notaku approached it, he could see it swirl and move, like water. Frowning, he peered through the liquid, and saw something that made his breath catch in his throat. The gem. It had to be. 

He reached out his hand to grab it through the water-glass, but was not surprised when his hand could not go through. He bit his lip, looking at the gem, and growled, "I need the gem." 

At first nothing happened. All Notaku heard was Earthkin's breathing, and his own ragged breath. All he saw was the glow behind the water that somehow took the shape of a glass window. And the gem...he definitely saw that, and it was in perfect focus. 

But then white, glowing letters appeared on the outside of the water-glass, and they read thus: 

> **To obtain what I guard, you must sacrifice the child with whom you travel.**

"What - Earthkin?" Notaku cried incredulously. 

> **Yes.**

"No!" By the gods, had the words truly demanded that Notaku sacrifice an innocent child? A thing of the jungle in which the fae lived, demanding one of its children be given up to...to what? Notaku growled, the anger and fear of the last twenty minutes coming to a boil within his spirit. He clenched his fists and let loose with a furious tirade at this barrier. He shouted at the top of his lungs. "I have quested for weeks to find you! My people are going to die if I don't get this gods-blasted gem back where it belongs, it is NOT YOURS! It belongs in the mountain! This Jungle is supposed to be a place of innocence, and if you don't give me this gem, innocents are going to die a horrible death, now give it to me!" 

Earthkin looked up at Notaku in fascination, and with an expression that was a little fearful. But he did not stray from Notaku's side, which if Notaku had been in any condition to notice, he would have realized indicated a good deal of trust. 

The next message said: 

> **You will not sacrifice the child?**

"NO!" 

There was nothing for a couple of seconds, and then a final message appeared to Notaku's eyes. 

> **It is well.**

Notaku blinked, as the water that formed the barrier began to trickle down into the soil and the roots surrounding it, until it was gone. The gem sat in a little hole in the mass of roots, free for Notaku to grab. He stared at it in shock for a very long time before reaching in a shaking hand to grasp it. 

When he grasped the gem, it was not hard and angular, as he had expected it to be. Its surface was smooth, almost velvety to the touch, like a thin sheen of water on a smooth rock wall. A sense of calm and serenity eased into his mind, calming his shaking, and easing the rage in his head. As he stared at the gem, he could easily see how its magic could keep a fiery volcano from spilling over. 

"Thanks..." he told the wall of roots, in a dazed voice. 

Clutching the gem in his hand, Notaku nudged Earthkin to turn around and head the other way, which they did. When they got to the wall Notaku had climbed, he found that it was now a gradual slope that led back the way he had come. Registering this with a half-numb mind, Notaku simply walked. 

A dozen faefolk waited for the pair once they reached the beginning, including Brookvoice and Windsong. Bursting into tears, Earthkin let go of Notaku's fur and ran to its guardian, throwing its arms around Windsong's legs. Windsong picked the child up and hugged it for a long moment, murmuring in a low, melodious tone. Meanwhile, Brookvoice had rushed forward to Notaku, who regarded him with a blinking gaze. "Get a poultice," Brookvoice said to one of the other fae. "Get two. Hurry." 

The fae hurried off, and Brookvoice turned back to Notaku. "It will be all right, the poultices should heal most of the injuries you , sit down. Come on." Brookvoice spoke in a low, worried voice, and Notaku let himself be led to a patch of moss, where he very nearly collapsed. "You will be a great warrior, Notaku," said Brookvoice. "There are not many grown fae who could take on a jungle cat. And with such courage. You will succeed in your quest and save your people. I am certain of this." 

Notaku could not find the energy to reply, and only slumped exhaustedly against a nearby tree. He vaguely noticed that several vines shifted downward to cushions his body and make him as comfortable as possible. When the poultices were brought, smelling strongly of herbs and of healing, he scarcely noticed. It was only when Brookvoice unwrapped his injured arm and wrapped the poultice around it instead, that he took notice; the pain was beginning to leave him, and the blood stopped seeping into his fur. Whatever the poultices were, they were powerful. 

Brookvoice gently leaned Notaku forward, to place the second poultice on his back, where he had taken the vicious claws. 

As the wounds began to heal, Notaku looked up at the fae who were gathered there. There were about six who held bows, now at their sides, with no arrows nocked at their strings. Windsong and Earthkin were there, and of course, Brookvoice. Notaku addressed Windsong. "Th-the beast...the beast, it was...was it part of the test?" And if it was... 

Windsong shook its head. "No," he said quietly, and Notaku realized that he was worried. "The beast was a jaguar, a creature seen on occasion in the Jungle. But we did not imagine that one would patrol so close to fae territory. Normally we respect each others' territories. This test was simply to test your wit, and your athletic skill, and of course your ethics at the end. The leopard was a surprise." 

"B-but...but you knew it happened?" 

"We did. I saw, and as fae are telepathic with each other, I was able to tell others as well. From the first attack, these archers were sent to watch. Several times they nearly shot the beast down, but did not, once they saw that you could fight the beast yourself." He knelt next to Notaku, and put a hand on the boy's head. "You risked yourself to shield my child. And for that I cannot possibly thank you. But you have proven yourself, to me, to be an ally of our kin." 

Notaku gazed at Windsong for several moments, before smiling a little bit, and nodding. He had heard, and felt, the sincerity in Windsong's voice, and even in his condition he appreciated it. 

Windsong stood, his voice a little brisker. "You will be tended tonight, and healed as much as we can. And upon the next nightfall, you will given whatever supplies that you need to be going on with. And Notaku, you will be welcome here...at any time." 

Notaku could only nod, as Brookvoice tended him, and Windsong left then, carrying Earthkin in its arms. 


	11. 11

Chapter 11

The rest of the evening was spent recovering. The poultices used a healing magic that took the pain and closed the wounds from the jaguar-cat, though it left Notaku feeling utterly exhausted. He slept with a guard of eight fae with bows, as he clutched the gem that so many people sought. Earthkin curled up to sleep next to Notaku the entire day, and only rose when Notaku did. 

In the evening, Notaku bathed and ate breakfast, and readied himself for the last leg of the journey. As promised, the cub was given supplies enough for two weeks in the form of dried fruits and greens, as well as one of the healing poultices. He was given a waterbag made of the hardiest of leaves, that would not run out of water. Notaku was also pleasantly surprised when a fae whose name he did not know handed him his sling; they had retrieved it from where he dropped it the previous night. 

In what seemed to be no time at all, Notaku stood at the edge of where the most of the fae lived. His bag was on his back, his knife and sling at his waist. Big Brother stood next to him, nudging him playfully, clearly ready to continue the journey. The blue gem sat in his ammunition pouch, which was secured to his waist and tied tightly shut. 

Brookvoice, Windsong, and Earthkin had come to see him off, along with a small group that would see him to the Jungle's borders. Notaku was finding himself reluctant to go. In just a short time, he had come to care very much for these fae. "I...dunno how to thank you." 

"It is not needed," said Windsong. 

Brookvoice grinned. "Besides, you will come back and visit with us, right?" 

Notaku smiled, and nodded. "I will." He looked down at Earthkin, who had come over to him to say goodbye. He hugged the tiny fae child for several moments, before standing up again and looking up to Big Brother. "Well...I guess we should go." 

"Good luck," said Brookvoice. 

"Thanks." Waving, Notaku turned around and headed outwards, towards the outer edge of the Jungle. He would leave by the north border, as this was the border that was closest to Derelict Peak, where the last task lay. 

It was three days' journey to the edge, and it was there that he said goodbye to the archers who had accompanied him there. He thanked them, then looked up to Big Brother. Understanding, the horse crouched, allowing Notaku to climb onto his back. And with a last wave to the fae, Notaku galloped off toward the mountain. 

As the fae retreated to their patrols, and Notaku headed north, a ragged human figure peered out from behind an cluster of rocks. He had no horse, and barely enough water to sustain himself with, and his eyes were slightly mad. His eyes on the marks Big Brother's hooves had made on the sand, the human began to follow. 

--- 

It was nice, having greens and fruits for his meals. On a diet of solely meat, Notaku had been nonetheless suffering from malnutrition without the greens his body needed. But the fruit from the jungle, even dried, was nutritious and refreshing, and gave Notaku energy enough for his quest. And Derelict Peak was only a few days away by horseback. 

During that trip, Notaku realized that Big Brother truly belonged with him. He had intended to let the animal go once they reached the Valley again, after all if one loved something, they should always set it free... and if it came back it was theirs. Notaku still intended to set Big Brother free, but had no doubts that he would return. 

Often Notaku would be wakened when it was time to get going by Big Brother's snout, nudging him right on the ribs, where it was ticklish. It was nice to wake to laughter instead of alarm, and he swore that horse knew full well he was ticklish. 

With the horse to ride, the trip to Derelict Peak was an easy one...though Notaku could see the trip _up_ Derelict Peak would not have a fun one. Notaku was going to have to leave the fae-made waterbag for Big Brother to drink, for the horse would not be able to handle the evil-looking climb. Notaku would have to take one of his waterbags, for the trip looking like it might just take a few days. 

At the foot of the mountain, Notaku did some quick calculations, and figured that he had traveled roughly five weeks. The moon was at a slim crescent, and the new moon approached. And it was then that the mountain would wreak its havoc. 

Notaku jumped down off of Big Brother, and arranged the fae waterbag in a crevice, much like a water pump. He filled his two waterskins, and patted Big Brother on the leg. "Wait here...okay?" he said to the horse. "I'll be back...I should be back in a few days." He sighed, looking morosely at the towering peak, and at the jagged rocks and torturous paths that led to the top. He had a lot of climbing in store for him, and not a lot of safe places to stop and rest. And even as he stood at the base, Notaku could feel the ground beneath shaking, and if he crouched down to touch the earth, it felt hot. Hotter than it should. 

"Well...I guess I had better go. And in a week, this should all be over with, and I can ride home in a week with Big Brother. 

If only it had ended up that way. 

At first, the climb was simply an uphill walk, tiring but not horrid. Sometimes Notaku would have climb up a rock outcropping, or use his hands to keep from sliding down a particularly steep slope, but for the most part it was a simple uphill trek. By dawn, the exhausted cub had made it up a third of the jagged mountain, but it was after this that the real ordeal would begin. 

At least there was a lot more shelter among the crags than on the featureless desert! Notaku took some water, curled up underneath an overhang, and slept in the shade. 

He woke while the sun was still in the sky, to an ominous rumbling. A shudder went through his body as he realized just how much power it took to break apart the very earth, and make the entire land shake beneath his feet. Surely not even the gem he held in his pouch could stop such an upheaval! But then it was all he had. 

The next night, with his lantern held tightly in his hand, he began climbing the crags and cliffs that led to the top of the mountain. He would look down every once in a while to see Big Brother either grazing on the scruffy ground cover, or looking up at him with avid interest. He supposed that to a horse, this must look awfully strange, if not downright hilarious. A small Gummi Bear youth, climbing up a bunch of craggy rocks. As he thought of this from a beast's point of view, Notaku laughed and shook his head. He was sure that most things sentient creatures did had the beasts thinking they were mad. 

Notaku's good humor began to wan as the night wore on. The rock was getting more difficult to climb, and the boy's muscles were tired. It was becoming difficult to find places that were large enough to sit down and have some fruit, much less sleep for the night, and it wasn't until the eastern horizon was gray that he found a little depression in the rocky ground he could sleep in. He ate some fruit, and drank of his water. He again was being careful of it, not wanting to use it all before he got to the top. It looked like he might be a day or so later than he had anticipated. 

He slept only the minimum needed to refresh his energy, and kept his climbing as constant as he could. He did not know how much time he had, and wanted to get the gem in its place as soon as he could. The ground rumbled almost constantly now, and the rock was hot even in the cooler nights. 

Notaku's muscles ached horribly by the end of the second day, and it looked like he had at least one day's worth of climbing to go. He spent a good amount of time before falling asleep, thinking of very bad things about the human that stole the gem to begin with. 

In the middle of the next night, a particularly violent rumble shook the rock Notaku clung to, breaking his tenuous grip on it. He yelled as his hand slipped, and he clambered frantically for purchase on the sheer stone. But another rumble dislodged him completely and his cry of fear echoed in the darkness as he fell. 

He twisted desperately around to catch onto something, anything, but there was nothing to hold onto. He managed to slow his fall a couple of times by grabbing at jutting rocks, but he could not hold onto them for long. He landed hard on a small area of flat rock, coughing as he gasped in breath. He crawled a little more firmly onto the platform, shaking, taking several minutes to calm his breathing down. 

He did not think that anything was badly injured, though there were several places that throbbed from the fall. The cub went through a methodical check of all of his body parts, making sure they still all worked, and none were bent in ways they should not be. His left side was swelling and hurt a great deal, and he suspected that some ribs might be broken or cracked, but there was nothing he could do about it. 

His lantern, which he had tied to his waist, was shattered, and when he went to get the other one from his bag, the one he had taken from the cave, he realized it had also broken. And so neither was usable any more. He snarled in frustration as he picked all of the glass out of his bag, and untied the lantern from his waist. He removed all the glass from the metal of the lanterns, dumped out the oil into the metal canister he had been storing it in, and put them back in his bag. He would be continuing the rest of his climb in darkness, for the crescent moon was now so thin that it might as well not be there at all, for light. 

And his climb had been set back at least half a day. Nearly in tears with discouragement, Notaku began to ascend once more. 

He did not fall again, though it was a close thing several times. He had come to anticipate the shaking of the ground and the rumbling of whatever was beneath the earth. And finally, three hours before dawn, he stood on the top of Derelict Peak. It was flat up here, as if it were the top of a very large drinking cup with extraordinarily thick sides. At least fifty feet of flat rock had to be crossed before Notaku would reach the great hole in the middle of the mountain. He approached, looking down in sheer fascination, wondering how a mountain could be hollow. Even a volcano. But then the fae had said this was a place of magic, so he supposed that was part of the reason. 

It was hot within, hotter than the blazing summer days of the desert. But there was a regular path that led down inside, winding down like a spiral staircase, and it did not take Notaku long to walk down it. The hole did not do down the entire length of the mountain, but it _was_ a long walk down, and Notaku was very tired when he hit the bottom. Taking in a breath of the air, wincing as it very nearly scorched his throat, he opened his pack and took out the human's journal. He flipped to the page that described where he had taken the gem from, and looked it over. He looked up, comparing what he saw to what was described on the pages, and determined which way he should be heading. 

The area he stood in was frightening. It was a large area of hot stone, but there were also cracks and recesses where rock so hot it was liquid flowed and bubbled. The air was so hot that Notaku could barely breathe it into his lungs, and the ground shook consistently here in the heart of the volcano. He could not wait to get out. 

Notaku spied a small cavern to the left that looked like the place he had to go to, and took one step in that direction. But he did not get any farther than that. Out of nowhere, something large hit him from above, causing him to sprawl on the hot earth, wondering furiously what had hit him. It wasn't hard, like rock. 

But then a moment later, something hit him in the face; something that felt suspiciously like a fist, and all of a sudden Notaku was fighting someone. He opened his eyes to the blurry face of a human, whom at first he did not recognize. But at the human's cry of "I'll kill you!" he realized it was Brooker! This shocked him long enough that Brooker was able to punch him again in the face, making Notaku yell in pain. 

He fought fiercely then, kicking up into the human's body, and scrambling out from under hi,. He ducked as Brooker charged, fumbling desperately for his sling, trying to get a stone in it so he could use it. Brooker roared almost like a beast himself and charged at Notaku again, ducking the stone that was hurled his way. 

Brooker tackled the boy once more, and they began to fight on the ground, Notaku trying to get free, and Brooker seemingly just trying to hurt Notaku as much as he could. Notaku's cries of battle and yells of pain mixed with Brooker's furious, often unintelligible howls. As he struggled, Notaku felt his foot kick something and howled in dismay when he realized it was the journal, and that he had just knocked it into the molten lava. "Noo!" he cried, lunging from underneath Brooker, trying to catch the journal. But he could not reach, and he could already see it had caught fire and sunk. 

The fight escalated then to something fierce. Notaku was furious at having lost the journal, and he kicked and punched with all his strength. Brooker was twice his size, in both height and mass, but Notaku was a Barbic. And he was angry. He once again was able to knock Brooker off of him and scramble to his feet, backing off several steps. 

Brooker stood also, but he seemed to need to catch his breath as much as Notaku did, for he only stood still for a moment, glaring at Notaku hatefully. His hair hung in his face, filthy and from what Notaku could smell; bloodstained. He looked as if he had gone without food and water for a bit, and his skin was red from overexposure to the sun. He looked very much like a man who had traveled almost nonstop for several days, possibly after having taken an injury. "Do you know what happened when I tried to follow you into the jungles?" he asked. 

Notaku blinked, but then he suddenly understood Brooker's ragged appearance, at least somewhat. "The fae attacked you." 

Brooker's eyes narrowed, but he nodded, spitting a bloody wad of phlegm onto the rock. "They did. I took at least five arrows before I could run from the forest... The only thing that saved my life was Fletcher, who shot two of them, gave me a chance to run away. Too bad he caught an arrow in the eye and died..." Notaku's eyes widened. He hoped that the fae who had been injured were okay. "And then my horse fell from thirst..." Brooker's lip curled in a snarl, and he a blurred weapon from a holder on his back. "I may die, but you'll die first!" Snarling, the human lunged. Notaku hurled a stone. 

This one grazed the man on the head, but did not knock him down. He jerked sideways, but continued his furious charge. It was then that the boy saw what weapon he held; it was a morningstar. Not a mace like Taylor had held on their first meeting, but a heavy, spiked ball on the end of a chain. Notaku screamed in alarm and ducked down flat on the ground as the mace sailed lethally over his head. He heard Brooker spin and come back for another try. 

His hands unsteady from urgency, Notaku loaded another stone in his sling and whipped it at Brooker's face. This one went completely wild, for Brooker was far closer than Notaku had realized. The boy ducked once more, this time losing his balance and falling to the ground, and had to scramble to get back on his feet. 

He cursed mildly in the Barbic dialect, wishing for the hundredth time that Taylor had not smashed his glasses! It made everything all blurry, and seriously impaired his depth perception. "You will pay for what you've done, you worthless, wretched brat," he growled as he approached. Sling loaded, Notaku took a couple of steps backwards. Brooker's mace swung idly from its hilt as the human walked. "At first I figured we would bring you back home in our servitude..." Notaku snarled at this idea. "But now I think I'll simply bury this ball in your brain. That would give me the greatest satisfaction." 

"You'll find it's very hard to kill a Barbic," said Notaku. Strangely, he felt no panic, only a sort of tense calm, one that made him feel ready for just about anything. He loaded a stone into his sling and began to spin it. 

Brooker laughed. "Maybe so, but you're not indestructible, brat. And you're not immortal. I've seen them dead. Barbics. They can bleed, and they can die." 

Notaku did not answer, only flung his stone at the man's form. Brooker ducked, and Notaku growled, grabbing yet another stone from his pouch. He was running out, and that would be bad. He would have to rely on his knife soon, if he wasn't careful, and that was in his bag. 

Brooker lunged suddenly with his mace, his long legs eating up the distance before Notaku could properly load his sling. The boy yelled, avoiding having his brains dashed to the ground, but sprawling backwards on the dirt from overbalance. He rolled frantically to the side as Brooker's mace-ball crashed down towards him, feeling the dirt fly as the ball imbedded itself in the hard ground. As Brooker paused to yank it from the earth, Notaku picked up a stone from the ground and threw it with all his strength at Brooker's head. 

It hit, but a thrown stone could not possibly have the impact of one hurled from a sling, and Brooker did not go down. He staggered, a cut opening on the side of his face where the stone struck, but he was far from defeated. 

The fight raged. Brooker swung with his mace, and Notaku's sling fired stone after stone. Notaku never took a direct hit with the mace, which would have killed him, but as he tired, he began catching grazes here and there, which were enough to send him sprawling. But Brooker was tiring, too. Though he possessed the strength of one who has gone mad, his body was tired and injured. And more of Notaku's shots were hitting as well. 

Finally, he slung his last stone, hitting Brooker in the arm as he hauled it back with its weapon. The arm went numb, and the morningstar flew several yards into the bubbling hot pools of lava. Brooker snarled furiously, and then, as he looked back towards Notaku, smiled. Wary, Notaku kept an eye on the man, but Brooker did not charge him; instead he darted forward and kicked something that was on the ground. 

A flash of blue caught Notaku's eye, and a cold dread gripped his chest as he realized; it was the gem. He yelled, lunging for it, but he could already see that he would not be in time, and the gem landed in the lava barely a foot from the stone. 

His eye only on the flash of blue, thinking of nothing else Notaku threw himself to his front side at the edge of the rock and grabbed for it. He shrieked as his hand plunged into the molten stone, but he felt his hand close around the gem, and he yanked it out. He hurled the gem to the ground, where it lay unmarred and unbroken. 

Notaku did not see Brooker's shocked expression, the disbelief in his eyes; the fur on his arm had caught fire, and he used his kilt to dash it out, crying aloud in pain. He frantically shook his hand, trying to rid it of the molten stone coating it, when the thought occurred; pick up the gem. He fell to his knees, clutching the stone with a hand that had been so badly burned he wasn't sure if he could use it again. But when he touched the gem, a blessed feeling of cool water flowed over it, washing away the stone, and taking the pain. He sobbed in sheer relief as he realized the stone was healing the damage the lava had done. He wondered briefly at this, but then remembered that the fae had said this place was magic, and the stone could counter that magic. 

Only then did he look at Brooker, who was standing there, gaping at the cub. Notaku stood, staring back for a moment, before tearing his bag open and pulling out his knife. He was going to have to kill Brooker, he realized, and this knowledge gave him a hot, sick swoop of horror. He had already killed one man, and human or not, it wasn't within his nature. And that had been an accident. This would be deliberate, and Notaku knew it had to be done, because if it wasn't, Brooker would hunt him down. If there was a possible way... 

Brooker laughed, although it was not entirely sane. The sound made the hackles on Notaku's neck bristle. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you wanted to kill me," Brooker whispered. 

"I don't," said Notaku. "But I am going to." 

Brooker laughed again, staggering toward Notaku, a smirk on his chapped, blistered lips. Notaku tensed, and stepped forward. He wasn't really sure how to kill someone. Or if he really could. But then Brooker was on him once more, and he no longer had time to speculate about what he could do. 

It was over in moments. As Brooker lunged for Notaku, the boy dodged, crouching down and thrusting forward with the hand that held the knife. The blade buried itself in the soft skin of Brooker's stomach and the human staggered back, look of dumb surprise on his face. Notaku almost took pity on him at that expression, an expression that asked how he could have come to this. He staggered forward, as if to attack again, but he never got the chance. The rock beneath his feet crumbled, falling into the bubbling river of stone that nearly surrounded them. He fell, shrieking as in less than a second, half his body was submerged in molten stone. He tried holding on for maybe three seconds as Notaku watched in horror. Brooker's clothing had caught fire, and his skin was blackening from the intense heat before he let go and sank... 

Suddenly shaking as if with fever, horrified with what he had just seen, Notaku burst into tears. 

He was still weeping when he turned back to the cavern he had seen. He was finding that the gem he held was guiding him, telling his heart where to go. And that was okay, because he could not think right then. And he did not want to. 

The mountain shook as Notaku stumbled through intricate caverns and corridors, heading for the room that was the home of the powerful gem that he carried. Wiping tears from his face, he finally stepped into a large cavern with unnatural looking blue walls. An iron bar rose from the earth, ending in a claw that looked like the one he remembered from the journal, and looked just big enough to house the gem he clutched into his hands. 

The rumbling seemed very far away here, in this vast chamber. And even the fear and horror he felt was muted and calmed as he walked towards the center. He looked at the gem for a moment, running his hands over the smooth, water-on-rock surface of it. He took a bit breath, stood on his toes, and placed it into the holder. 

At first he was alarmed, thinking that he had done something wrong. Everything went as silent as the grave, including the rumbling of the ground, and the bubbling of the lava outside. He blinked, looking around, before realizing that it was the gem. The gem had instantaneously stilled the entire, heaving mountain. 

A small voice spoke in Notaku's head, then, a voice that was not his own. Run, that voice said. You will be guided safely out. But you must run. Now. 

Notaku did not wait to be told twice. Summoning the last of his energy, he ran, somehow knowing which of the corridors to take, knowing which way he had come. He sprinted out into the main chamber, very aware of the peacefully flowing lava, of the utter stillness and silence. That silence had an ominous, waiting quality to it. 

He grabbed his bag, which had been thrown aside during the fight, and began running up the path that led into the caverns. Up and up, around and around. Soon he could concentrate on nothing except making his feet run for five more minutes, and then five more, and five more... 

The stars grew closer and closer as he approached the top. It was still night out, and somewhere in the back of his head Notaku thought, was I in here for so little a time? He wanted to rest once he made it outside, but had the feeling it would be a bad idea. And so he began climbing down as quickly as he could, and still be safe. Needless to say, getting down was ten times easier than climbing up had been, and he could see that it would take a day at the most. 

Notaku had already been awake the entire night, but as dawn cracked on the horizon, he did not stop. He put all of his concentration, and the last of his energy into getting down and off the mountain, for he somehow knew in his heart that if he didn't get off in time, it would mean his death. 

Somehow he made it down, and was startled when he felt Big Brother's soft muzzle on the top of his head. He looked up, uncomprehending, and realized he was down. Derelict Peak rose above him, as imposing as ever, and the hot sun beat down from a position that suggested it was midafternoon. He looked blearily around and spotted the waterskin that Brookvoice had given him, and worked it out of its crevice. He corked it and went back to his horse. 

Anxious, Big Brother knelt to let Notaku get aboard. 

He almost could not climb up, utterly fatigued by the climb down, but he did, and Big Brother stood up. "Go," Notaku said wearily, giving a weak little nudge. Obligingly, Big Brother began to trot away from Derelict Peak. 

Notaku looked back only once when the ground began to shake, stopping Big Brother so that he could see what was happening. At first he panicked thinking that somehow he had made a mistake, and that the mountain would begin its destruction. But he soon saw this was not so. The top of Derelict Peak began to crumble, falling in on itself as if the entire volcano were collapsing. As it was, the top half _did_ collapse, crumbling down into the middle. Notaku knew the caverns had crumbled, filled in with tons and tons of stone, and suddenly, Notaku knew why: protection. He highly doubted that anyone without the help of the gods could get in there now and take the gem again. Smiling, he turned back around and nudged Big Brother into motion. 


	12. 12

Chapter 12

Notaku did not know how many more days he was out in the desert, but he knew it was at least a week, no more than three. His food supplies got very low, causing him to ration himself, but that was okay. He had all the water he wanted for both him and Big Brother. 

Finally, as he rode across the sands, he began to see the tops of the trees of his Valley, and his heart felt like it jumped excitedly in his chest. He laughed wearily and urged Notaku into a fast trot. They did not get there that night, but he woke at noon the next day, eager to continue. Maybe he could get there by midnight... 

In the Valley, Bryon and Kuma waited and waited for their son's return. When the new moon of midsummer came and went, they knew that he had succeeded in his quest, and they could not have been prouder. But had he survived? 

Every night since new moon, since Derelict Peak's top had crumbled in on itself, they had gone into the desert to scan the horizon. Every night they hoped to see him hiking through the sands towards home... 

One night, they sat in the sands, each with an arm around the other, and simply watched. They were only a half hour's walk from the house, but at the top of the Valley, so that they could see the entire horizon. At first, as a cloud of dust made its way toward them, they wondered who was visiting the Valley. Or if it were an attacker. But as the dust cloud came closer, they realized it was far larger than a unicorn, and not only that, there seemed to be no one in the seat. A horse, then... Perhaps it was a wild horse, perhaps one that had escaped some human and fled to the desert. 

They watched it for a while, and it appeared that it was coming right for them. They stood, in case they had to move from its path... 

Notaku Barbic was asleep by the time that Big Brother approached the Valley, though the horse reached back and nibbled on Notaku's leg to wake him. Blinking, he sat up, and grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "That feels weird when you do that," he grouched to Big Brother, who only nickered in amusement. 

At first the boy wondered why Big Brother had stopped, when he realized that they were within fifteen minutes' ride of home. And there was someone out in the desert! Big Brother knelt so that Notaku could get down, and he squinted at the figures. 

When one of them let a cry of joy, he realized that it was his parents, and his eyes widened. Throwing his pack to the ground, he ran toward them, colliding with his mother and wrapping his arms around her waist. Not able to help himself, he burst into tears, and from the sound of it, so did she. As his father joined the desperate embrace, Notaku thought that he just might be crying, too. 

The family stayed like this for a very long time, Kuma whispering how thankful she was that Notaku was all right, how proud she was that had succeeded in his quest. And Bryon could not stop telling him what a fine warrior he would make and that he would want no other for his son. 

But finally they broke, and Kuma was looking her son over. She could tell that he had suffered, even though the signs of his fight with Brooker had all but faded. She saw he had scars, the most notable being the one in his shoulder, where a human's arrow had lodged, then been ripped out. "We'll take you to the mages," she whispered. "One of the healers. They'll look you over, make sure you're okay." 

Notaku nodded wearily. 

"Cub...what happened to your glasses?" 

Notaku sighed, and looked up, wiping his eyes. "It's...it's a long story," he said. "I think I want to wait a little before telling it." 

"Of course," said Bryon. "What you want now is to heal, and rest. Perhaps a few days' recovery." He smiled, putting a hand on his son's head. "And you have a celebratory dance to lead, having passed your Test of Bearhood. I think that all the Valley just may turn up to see it, and participate in the feast afterwards." 

Notaku thought about this and actually smiled, nodding his head. "That would be good," he said quietly. "And I will tell my story to the whole clan then, I think." 

"I think that's a good idea." Bryon suddenly blinked, suddenly realizing just how his son had come home, and looked up at Big Brother. "You came on a horse," he said blankly. Big Brother watched the scene with interest. 

Notaku actually laughed. It was not an entirely humorful laugh, but a laugh just the same. "Another long story...part of the one that explains the loss of my glasses. His name is Big Brother. And if he wants to stay with me, I would keep him." 

His parents both looked slightly surprised, but then Kuma laughed. "Then he is yours. You must have some natural skill, to ride a beast to big." 

Notaku smiled, and gestured over to the horse. "C'mon, Big Brother. There's path that you should be okay to take." 

The Barbic family did take this path down to the bottom of the Valley, where several people noticed Notaku's return. Many waved, and some seemed to want to talk to him, and ask him about his quest and to stare in awe at the horse. But all Notaku would say was that the Valley was safe, at least from the threat from Derelict Peak, and that he was not yet ready to tell his story. Most respected this with no fuss. 

Notaku did indeed spend the next several days recovering from his ordeals. The eldest of the mages met with him, bringing her healing herbs and performing her healing rites. His ribs _had_ been cracked, though they had healed well, and he had the scars from Fletcher's arrow and Taylor's whip. These were bathed in herbal water, as the eldest said she might be able to lessen the scars a bit. And at any rate, she wanted to make sure that they were properly healed. She smiled at him the whole time, and told him she was proud. "You have completed a task that many Barbics could not have survived through. You are truly courageous." 

The glass smith crafted a new pair of glasses for Notaku, at no charge, even though his parents tried to barter. Notaku thanked him profusely; it was very nice to be able to see again. He visited with his friends, who all wanted to know what happened on his quest, and he said he was going to tell the story at the celebratory feast...and they had to be content with that. It was strange. They could see that something in their friend had changed, caught echoes of his trials when they looked into his eyes. And they wondered if things would be the same among them. 

He left Big Brother untethered, but busied himself with making a stable for the horse's shelter, and Big Brother did stay, as Notaku knew he would. 

But finally Notaku was ready, and when came the night of his dance, the entire Valley turned out to attend. The night was a beautiful one, with a warm wind blowing, and the sky as clear as it could be. He was nervous as he approached the assembly area, seeing how many Gummies had showed up, but his father put a steadying hand on his shoulder, and he smiled. "I'm okay," he said quietly. 

"Your mom and I will be right there in the front." 

Notaku nodded, and strode up to the front, where the mages stood, also in ceremonial garb. Notaku set his headdress on a nearby rock, and looked out to the crowd. They quieted, as by now everyone knew he was back, and they wanted to know his story. 

And so he told it. He told how he had journeyed to the cave, and tried to put into words the wonder he felt. He told of finding the human's den, and then the human himself, and of what was in the journal. (He had given that over to the mages for their records). He told of traveling from the caverns, and of being ambushed by the humans. There were many angry hisses and growls at this, which was not unexpected among a throng of Barbics. 

He told them of his ordeal at the hands of the humans (more hisses and growl, and several young cubs booed) and of how he had set their horses free and escaped them, taking Big Brother with him. And at this, there were several rather savage cheers. 

He told them of the fae, though he was careful not to reveal any of their secrets. Only that there were certain people allowed there, and those were not many, and that they had helped Notaku with his quest. There were many whispers at that, that Notaku had gone into the Jungle and come back alive. He told of gaining the gem and heading for Derelict Peak. He told of climbing into the mountain, and of Brooker following him, and how he must have traveled without stopping night and day after escaping the fae in the Jungle. Of how he must have been only hours behind Notaku on the climb up. He told of how Brooker died. 

Notaku felt a bit uncertain as more than half of the crowd cheered the human's death. Perhaps Brooker deserved to die like the other human Notaku had killed. Perhaps it was time for him to reenter the cycle. But none of them had been there to see his face, to watch his skin burn, or hear his agonized shrieks. He himself did not know if he had been right in killing anyone, though he suspected most the Valley would have said he was. But what was easy to say, was not always so easy to do. 

He realized he had gone silent when the eldest grasped his arm and asked if he was all right. Shaking off the thought for now he nodded, and finished his tale. After telling of how he had put the gem back, and how the mountain had collapsed, there was not much more to say. 

Once his tale was finished, there was silence in the glade for a few moments, before a small group of younger Barbics began to clap and cheer. And slowly, everyone else joined in. Notaku blinked, taken by surprise, and felt his face slowly redden. Still, he could not help but be flattered, and honored at their approval. 

After a moment, one of the mages stood and raised his hands for silence. He then announced that Notaku had passed his Test of Bearhood, and was now to be considered a man among the clan. There was more applause while Notaku donned the feathered headdress, and faced the crowd. "And now," said the mage. "He will lead the dance that will complete his Test. And then we shall feast, to celebrate the joining of one more warrior-knight to the fold, and the life of our Valley!" 

Notaku smiled then, and thanked the mage, pulling the feathered headdress over his head. The smells of a whooper of a feast drifted from where the food was being prepared, and Notaku caught sight of games and contests being set of. It would be a grand festival, he could see that, and he could not help but anticipate it. And as the music started, and Notaku began to dance, he realized that though he might never forget what he went through, the Valley and his people would always be there to help him get through it. 

And that was how it should be. 

FIN 


End file.
